By David Lee Wheatley
Arsenal's defeat at the hands of Rafa Benitez's Napoli plunged the Gunners into serious danger of receiving a perilous task in the last-16 of the competition when the draw takes place on Monday, but it could've been so much worse.
Arsene Wenger's men travelled to Naples full of hope that they'd capture top spot in the group and therefore avoid the biggest names in European football, but they failed spectacularly and could now face a tricky tie with one of the tournament favourites.
However, they will be thanking their lucky stars that the Italian side didn't manage to score just once more, as that would have seen the expulsion of Arsenal from this year's Champions League altogether.
Gonzalo Higuain and Jose Callejon put paid to a poor Arsenal last night, but they couldn't quite force a third goal that would've seen them advance in place of the Gunners. Now Wenger's chances of lifting the trophy look vastly more difficult when compared with that of eventual group winners Borussia Dortmund.
Spanish giants Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all lie in wait, while European champions Bayern and French league leaders Paris Saint-Germain are both in the frame to meet the north Londoners. It's a frankly frightening scenario whichever team Arsenal find themselves paired with and that daunting thought does nothing for their ambitions of claiming Europe's premier trophy.
Many will argue that a club with designs on winning the Champions League must first negotiate matches against the very best our continent has to offer anyway, so what does it matter if the sternest test arrives at the last-16 stage?
However, there is the notoriously hard slog over Christmas domestically to battle beyond before the next European round begins and then it's about getting up to speed at that supreme continental level once again after more than two months away. Surely it would be preferable to meet a lesser side on resumption of the Champions League to ease your players back into the swing of the competition?
Elsewhere, fellow group victors Manchester United, Chelsea and Dortmund join the aforementioned illustrious names in the hat with the prospect of meeting runners-up such as Milan, Zenit, Schalke, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Galatasaray or Bayer Leverkusen (dependent on teams from the same country being kept apart).
Nobody will fancy the prospect of butting heads with City after their heroics in Munich on Tuesday and dark horses Galatasaray pose a threat with superstars Sneijder and Drogba within their ranks. The draw will make for very interesting viewing next week when the Champions League finally reaches the nitty-gritty of the knockout stages.
Twitter: @davewh1980
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