Drawing Barcelona Confirms That Arsenal Should Focus on Premier League

The draw for the UEFA Champions League round of 16 is set, and Arsenal will face a familiar foe. After qualifying for the knockout phase in miraculous style, the Gunners will play holders Barcelona over two legs.

Obviously, this is a tough draw for Arsenal. Barcelona eliminated Arsene Wenger's side from the same stage of this competition in 2009-10 and 2010-11. More to the point, the Catalan side won the treble last season and appear one of the best two or three sides in Europe at the moment.

But after the great escape in Group F, the Gunners should approach this tie as if they have nothing to lose. Because with the Premier League so wide open, Arsenal really should focus on domestic football and treat the Champions League tie with Barcelona as a chance to pull off an upset.

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After the draw, club secretary David Miles provided the reaction that many Arsenal supporters probably would have echoed.

"We were hoping for a good draw—it’s probably the team most fans would want to avoid," Miles said, per Jack Gaughan at the Daily Mail. "It’s up to us to make a good fist of it. We’ve got our own world-class players and it’ll be two fantastic games. I was told by my family that if I came back with Barcelona not to bother to go home."

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

That last part was in jest, of course, but it neatly summarized the draw from Arsenal's perspective. After another second-place finish in the group stage, the chances were high that the Gunners would draw a difficult opponent.

And it couldn't have been much more difficult than Barcelona. Having won the treble last season, Luis Enrique's men coasted through the group stage this term, easily topping Group E ahead of Roma, Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov.

Superstar forward Lionel Messi has recently returned from an injury, but Barca's quality up front hardly diminished in his absence. With Luis Suarez and Neymar in top form, the Catalan side pose an impressive attacking threat.

History also points to a tough time for Arsenal. These same two teams met in the 2006 final, with Barcelona coming from behind to win 2-1 in Paris. More recently, Barca eliminated Arsenal in the round of 16 in 2010 and 2011.

In 2011, Arsenal claimed a superb 2-1 victory in the home leg, with Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin scoring late goals to overturn David Villa's first-half opener. That lead evaporated in the return match, but if the Gunners are to have any chance this time, they'll need a similarly strong performance in the first leg at the Emirates.

Tom Hevezi/Associated Press

To some extent, though, the pressure is all on Barcelona. Luis Enrique's side will be the clear favorites, and for good reason. The Catalans have the better squad and are capable of playing some of the best football on the planet.

Arsenal, on the other hand, sealed qualification to the knockout stage only at the last hurdle, overcoming an awful start to the group stage with back-to-back wins on the final two matchdays. Only the latter, a 3-0 victory at Olympiakos, secured the Gunners' spot in Monday's draw.

Having made a great escape, Arsenal could argue that any further progress in Europe is an unexpected bonus. A club of this stature should always expect to make deep progress in the Champions League, but with the Premier League race wide open this season, perhaps the focus should lie elsewhere.

At the Daily Telegraph, Paul Hayward wrote:

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Continental honours would be nice. Domestic honours are obligatory for a club with Arsenal’s stock of talent. The Premier League is practically inviting them up the aisle. An enjoyably chaotic season is begging Wenger’s team to impose themselves on Leicester and Manchester City. The plan must surely be to exploit that opportunity between now and February, and treat the Barcelona tie as a pressure-free chance to upset the natural order. And the current Arsenal side seem to like being written off, as they showed with a 3-0 win in Athens.

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The win in Olympiakos, and the great escape from the group, hinted that Arsenal have a depth and togetherness in the squad that haven't always been present in recent seasons. Even without key contributors like Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla for the trip to Greece, the Gunners got exactly the result they needed.

Is a similar result possible against Barcelona? Maybe. But Hayward's argument was correct: From now until February, the focus must be squarely on domestic football. Arsenal's best chance for silverware is there. And when the time comes to face Barcelona, Arsenal should play as if they have nothing to lose.