Arsenal handed kind draw in Champions League Round of 16 ties

The draw for the last 16 of this season's UEFA Champions League was made official on Monday afternoon at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Current English Premier League leaders Arsenal were handed a kind draw as they are set to face Portuguese outfit FC Porto.

"We want to try and go as far as possible, but we are very much concentrating on playing well, performing well and playing the best football we can, and then we'll see how far we go," Arsenal's sporting director, Edu, told the club's website.

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Reigning champions Man City, who defeated Inter Milan in the final last season to lift their first Champions League title, will continue with their title defence against Denmark's FC Copenhagen.

Pep Guardiola's City, who are looking to retain the title they won in Istanbul last June, will be expected to comfortably get the better of the Danish side, who qualified from their group at the expense of Manchester United after beating the Red Devils 4-3 at home.

The standout tie of the round appears to be between Inter and Athletico Madrid with Napoli and Barcelona also promising to deliver an epic showdown.

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Record champions Real Madrid will face Germany's RB Leipzig with Bayern Munich drawn against SS Lazio from Italy.

Madrid will be heavily fancied against RB Leipzig, and Bayern Munich will be strong favourites against Lazio, a team they beat 6-2 on aggregate at the same stage of the competition in 2020/21.

The round of 16 will be played over four weeks in the spring.

The first legs will be February 13-14 or February 20-21 in 2024, while the return fixtures will be on either March 5-6 or March 12-13.  

This season's Champions League final will be staged at Wembley in London on June 1.

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Full Draw

FC Porto (POR) v Arsenal (ENG)

Napoli (ITA) v Barcelona (ESP)

Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) v Real Sociedad (ESP)

Inter Milan (ITA) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)

PSV Eindhoven (NED) v Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Lazio (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER)

FC Copenhagen (DEN) v Manchester City (ENG)

RB Leipzig (GER) v Real Madrid (ESP)

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