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Champions League draw throws up best of British

English rivals Arsenal and Chelsea were drawn to meet each other in the pick of the Champions League quarterfinals yesterday.

Chelsea, who have not beaten their London rivals in any of their last 16 meetings, will be at home in the first leg.

In the semifinals the winners of that tie will face either nine-times winners and favorites Real Madrid or AS Monaco, who play the first leg of their quarterfinal in Spain.

Holders AC Milan are at home in the first leg against Deportivo Coruna, who will not be overawed by the prospect having convincingly knocked out last year's runners-up Juventus on Tuesday.

The winners will play either last year's UEFA Cup winners Porto, who eliminated Manchester United on Tuesday, or France's Olympique Lyon. They play the first leg of their quarterfinal in Portugal.

With the quarterfinals missing Manchester United for the first time in eight years, Arsenal and Chelsea took up the baton for England but there was a sense of anti-climax when they were paired.

"Generally one of the joys of playing in Europe is obviously to meet overseas teams," Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein told Sky Sports News.

"To meet Chelsea, who we have already played three times this year, is a little bit anti-climactic perhaps but yet it's a massive game and it's there to be won with a very juicy semifinal if we manage to get that far."

Arsenal, unbeaten in the premier league this season, have beaten Chelsea three times in domestic encounters, twice in the league and once in the FA Cup, but have yet to progress past the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

Reaching the last eight is a matter of course for Real Madrid and they will be pleased with their draw, even though they should not underestimate Monaco who thrashed Deportivo Coruna 8-3 during the group phase.

One player who might have mixed feelings about the tie is Madrid's Spanish international striker Fernando Morientes, who has spent the season on loan at Monaco.

Morientes has helped Real to three of their Champions League triumphs but Madrid director Emilio Butragueno said that the Spanish side would not try to prevent him playing in the tie.

"He played for us for many years, for him it will not be easy but he is a professional and he will try to help his team to beat Madrid," said the former Spanish international.

Five of the eight quarterfinalists -- Arsenal, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Monaco and Porto -- lead their domestic leagues. Milan and Real are the only teams in the last eight who also reached last year's Champions League quarterfinals.

The first legs of the quarterfinals will be played on March 23 and 24 with the returns two weeks later on April 6 and 7.

The semifinals are played on April 20 and 21 and May 4 and 5 with the final in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 26.
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