Champions League quarter-final draw: Arsenal and Man City given tough route to the final

The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League took place in Switzerland today as Arsenal and Manchester City discovered their fate.

It was an open draw, meaning there were no seedings and no country protection, so clubs from the same nation could face each other.

Real Madrid vs Man City

Holders Manchester City eased into the last-8 of the competition with a comfortable win over Copenhagen. Having won the first leg away 3-1, Pep Guardiola’s men finished the job with another 3-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium last week. Manuel Akanji, Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland were all on target to secure a 6-2 aggregate win.

City have now been drawn to face Spanish giants Real Madrid in the next phase. Madrid edged past RB Leipzig 2-1 on aggregate and will now need to take on defending champions City for a place in the semi-finals.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich

Arsenal were pushed all the way by Porto in their last-16 tie. Despite dominating the first leg away from home, Arsenal struggled to create clear cut chances and were made to pay after Porto scored a last gasp wonder-goal to snatch a 1-0 lead.

The second leg at the Emirates Stadium was tense but Leandro Trossard levelled the tie with a lovely goal. Neither side could find a winner so it went to penalties and David Raya was the hero for Arsenal after saving two spot-kicks to book their place in the quarter-finals for the first time in 14 years.

The Gunners have now been drawn to face German giants Bayern Munich, which means a reunion with former Tottenham striker Harry Kane. Bayern made it through to the quarters after recovering from a first leg defeat to beat Lazio 3-1 on aggregate.

The first leg will be at the Emirates with the return tie at the Allianz Arena.

Other ties

Atletico Madrid booked their place in the last-8 after a nail-biting game with Inter Milan. After the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate, Atletico progressed after winning the shoot-out on Wednesday night.

Atletico will now take on Borussia Dortmund after the Germans eased into the quarter-finals after beating PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in the second leg, progressing 3-1 on aggregate.

The final quarter final sees Paris Saint-German take on Barcelona.

When will the ties take place:

Quarter-final first legs: 9/10 April 2024
Quarter-final second legs: 16/17 April 2024
Semi-final first legs: 30 April/ 1 May 2024
Semi-final second legs: 7/8 May 2024
Final: 1st June 2024

Route to the final

The route to the final at Wembley Stadium has also been mapped out. The winners of Arsenal/Bayern will take on either Real Madrid or Manchester City, so we could see an all-Premier League showdown.

In the other side of the draw, the winner of Atletico Madrid/Borussia Dortmund will face either PSG or Barcelona.