Arsenal face an almighty task to win their first Champions League crown as the knockout stages get underway this week.
Winning UEFA‘s premier competition looks to be the Gunners’ best chance of a trophy this season.
Liverpool are running away with things at the top of the Premier League, while Arsenal are out of both domestic cups.
That leaves success in Europe as Mikel Arteta‘s last real opportunity to win the club’s first trophy since 2020.
The Gunners hold the English record for most successive appearances in UEFA’s top competition but infamously have never won it.
Arsenal finally ended their last-16 curse last year after a penalty shootout win over Porto before crashing out at the quarter-final stage.
This term, they face PSV Eindhoven in their first knockout round, live on talkSPORT, but if they can see off the Dutch side, things are going to get drastically harder for the Gunners.
Who can Arsenal face in the Champions League quarter-finals?
Arsenal certainly ended up on the tougher side of the draw, alongside multiple Champions League winners, including Real Madrid and Liverpool.
And Los Blancos are one of the teams the Gunners might face in the last eight.
The other would also prove to be a significant test because it is Real’s inner-city rivals, Atletico.
The two Spanish giants have been drawn against each other in a mouth-watering round of 16 tie, with the winner facing Arsenal or PSV.
The Gunners have played Real only twice across their vast history.
The pair met in the Champions League during the 2005/06 campaign in the round of 16.
The first leg was at the Bernabeu, and the north London giants won 1-0 thanks to a Thierry Henry goal.
This was a Real Madrid side that included Iker Casillas, Roberto Carlos, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo up front.
So, it was a prime Galacticos XI, but despite having Mathieu Flamini at left-back and Philippe Senderos at the heart of the defence, Arsene Wenger’s side held on.
They then kept another clean sheet in the return leg, drawing 0-0 with Real Madrid to seal their place in the next round, knocking Los Blancos out.
Arsenal went all the way to the final only to be beaten by Barcelona that year.
Meanwhile, the Gunners have also only faced Atletico Madrid twice, but that was more recently.
In 2018, the pair met in the Europa League semi-finals as Wenger looked to sign off with one more bit of silverware before leaving.
The first leg at the Emirates ended 1-1, leaving everything to play for in Spain, but it was Diego Simeone‘s team that emerged victorious.
Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa scored on the cusp of halftime to put the LaLiga side into the lead, and they held on to take a 2-1 aggregate win.
So, the Gunners have mixed fortunes against either of their potential quarter-final opponents, but before they can think of that, they must see off PSV.
PSV vs Arsenal: talkSPORT coverage
This Champions League clash will take place on Tuesday, March 4.
Kick-off at the Philips Stadion is scheduled for 8pm.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of all the action.
Commentary will come from Sam Matterface and Scott Minto.
To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.
You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
The game will also be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+.