Well the Champions League draw has been announced, and the fixtures for the Quarter Finals are as follows:

Olympique Lyonnais v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow

And the Semi Final Draw is:

Inter Milan/CSKA Moscow v Arsenal/Barcelona
Bayern Munich/Manchester United v Olympique Lyonnais/Bordeaux

And Arsenal have confirmed that the first leg at The Emirates will be played on Wednesday 31st March, and the second leg will be on Tuesday 6th April, at the Camp Nou.

Ever since Arsenal made the last eight people have asked me who I wanted in the next round, and do you know who I said every time?

Barcelona.

They thought I was joking, but I wasn’t.

Call me stupid, call me insane, but I think we can beat Barcelona

To win the competition, you have to beat the best anyway. Of course, people talked about facing Lyon, Bordeaux and then CSKA Moscow as a possible way to win it but the odds on that ever happening were always going to be remote.

The fact is, Arsenal at their best can beat anyone. It’s been a topsy turvy season but don’t let that fool you into thinking that Barcelona will completely batter us. When you think back to the season where we made the final in 2006, Arsenal’s run to Paris was magical - things dreams were made of.

We beat the Galacticos of Real Madrid, got past a Juventus side with Patrick Vieira, had a dramatic semi-final against Villarreal and narrowly lost against Barcelona in a cruel final.

Along with the FA Cup semi-final replay defeat to Manchester United in 1999, that Barcelona final was one of the most devastating moments in my Arsenal supportership (if that’s even a word). I was inconsolable for weeks, and I’ve supported Arsenal for almost 20 years.

Do I want revenge? Oh hell yeah.

At The Emirates we can beat anyone. No team has retained the Champions League in its current format so why can’t we be the team to knock out Barcelona?

Yes, Barcelona won absolutely everything there was to win last season (La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Supercup, The Champions League, The European Supercup and the World Club Championship) but I watched their first leg match against Stuttgart they were fortunate not to lose by 2 or 3 goals.

And of course, Barcelona haven’t beaten us 11 against 11.

Barcelona should be afraid of us, and underestimate us at our peril.

And of course we will welcome Thierry Henry with open arms, and it will be an honour to see him back at The Emirates. And we all know what happened when a former captain came back to Arsenal…

Hull City (1) - (2) Arsenal
Arshavin (14′), Bendtner (90+3′)
Kingston Communications Stadium, Hull

I only caught the first half, a bit of the second and the highlights last night, but what a fucking massive result. I’ve said constantly over the last few weeks that I couldn’t care less how we perform, as long as we nick the 3 points.

And Arsenal did that yesterday.

I’ve also said that the form of Bendtner is paramount to whether we win anything this season, and how massive was his injury time goal?

I fucking love it.

I love that we got one over on that idiot Phil Brown, I love that we nicked the 3 points and I love that we won the game despite not being at the top of our game. In the end, that’s a characteristic of champions.

Arshavin scored a lovely goal after 14 minutes, darting passed 2 defenders (slightly fortunately) and finished off the move with aplomb, lashing the ball into the corner with the outside of his boot.

The Hull got lucky, winning a penalty despite the move being offside.

Campbell made contact, and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink went down. When Sol touched him the ball was actually behind the Dutch striker so a red card would have been very harsh. But obviously that didn’t stop Phil Sunbed moaning that Campbell should have been sent off, because of that tackle in the second half.

Campbell won the ball you Orange twat.

I was amazed that Alan Shearer and Alan Hansen actually backed up Sol Campbell in their post-match analysis on MOTD, both on his yellow card for the penalty and the great tackle in the second half.

There’s hope for Setanta and Sky Sports yet. Maybe.

I notice no-one mentioned that George Boateng should have been sent off for his first ‘eye poke’ on Bendtner, which is surely ‘raising your hands’ and should be a straight red. His second yellow card was also possibly a  straight red, after studding Bacary Sagna high up on his knee.

In the second half with Hull down to 10 men, Arsenal found it hard to get that second and decisive goal. Arshavin and Bendtner had golden opportunities to seal the game after good work from Walcott, and as the full time whistle crept closer and closer you feared that we might drop a vital two points.

But from a good 40 yards out, Denilson pinged a shot which Myhill parried, and like a lightening bolt Nicklas Bendtner scored the rebound.

What a huge goal for Arsenal.

And great praise has to go to Bendtner.

After missing a couple of decent chances, it takes special character to be switched on right until the end. In the 93rd minute, he had the awareness to anticipate the rebound and get in front of the defence and score the winner. Great dedication and thanks to his attitude and application we’re still right in this title race.

When you take everything into account, it was a stunning goal.

The magnitude, the pressure and the finish were all massive.

But we all know the big Dane doesn’t lack confidence, and what a good job he doesn’t! The bottom line is that when required, Bendtner has delivered.

4 down, 8 to go. Next cup tie: West Ham United.

Arsenal (5) - (0) FC Porto
Bendtner (10′, 25′, 89′), Nasri (63′), Eboue (66′)
The Emirates Stadium, London

All the pre-game talk was about the absence of Cesc Fabregas. Without our inspiration captain, several pundits tipped us to go out.

But in the end, we hardly missed him. And that’s great credit to the rest of the squad.

And it was also great credit to the lads that they had such a positive reaction to the poor showing in the first leg to turn the tie on its head.

Arsenal set their stall out with a virtually all-out-attacking mindset from the off and Porto just couldn’t cope with it. It was a typically high-tempo performance where Arsenal threw men forward at every opportunity.

It was entertaining to watch, and Arsenal created opening after opening.

Andrei Arshavin was having a hit an miss game - one minute doing something sublime and then carelessly losing the ball the next. But he was the one who was highly influential in Bendtner’s (and Arsenal’s) first two goals.

Nasri, who was my Man of the Match, played in Arshavin, who ran towards goal in a five way chase for the ball. No-one really won it and the ball bounced to Bendtner who stretched out and poked the ball into the net. The perfect start for Arsenal after 10 minutes.

Arshavin rinsed Porto’s right back Jorge Fucile for the second, by running to the byline and giving Bendtner an easy tap in.

After that, the game was Arsenal’s for the taking and Arshavin had a golden opportunity to top off a decent first half performance with Arsenal’s third but he hit his effort over the bar.

In the second half, it was Porto who had the better of the opening 10 minutes, with the tricky Radamel Falco having a decent effort saved by Almunia. Arsenal’s energy levels dipped after the break and Porto enjoyed more of the possession and also had a headed effort saved off the line by Nasri.

And it was Nasri who produced a moment of magic only minutes later.

He picked up the ball on the right hand side, coolly waltzed passed 5 or 6 Porto players before smashing the ball right into the far corner.

A moment of genius from the man who stepped up in the absence of Fabregas.

A stunning goal, and a decisive one.

Samir Nasri’s all round performance was outstanding. He ran his bollocks off chasing back and closing down players but also linked the play beautifully, showed great skill and touch as well as being dangerous going forward. And to top it all off he saved a header on the far post.

Pretty much a perfect performance from him.

Arsenal had Porto on the ropes at this point and they really rubbed salt into the wounds with a stunning counter attack.

From a Porto corner, the ball found its way to Arshavin who carried the ball 60 yards before playing in Eboue with a beautifully timed and weighted through pass. Eboue smartly knocked it passed the stranded Helton before slotting the ball into the net.

Game, set and match.

The game petered out slightly after that, but with seconds left on the clock the impressive Eboue won a penalty that Bendtner happily dispatched. The first Arsenal hattrick in Europe since Alan Smith’s back in the day.

Football’s a funny old game. With Bendtner missing those sitters against Burnley who would have bet he would get a hattrick against Porto? I honestly wasn’t concerned about his misses at the weekend and obviously Bendtner wasn’t either. Once the Dane scored that third goal I did think about all that nonsense between him and Adebayor a couple of seasons ago.

I wonder who’s having the last laugh now Ade?

Player Ratings

Manual Almunia: 7/10
Was asked to deal more with pass-backs than shots but dealt well with the few saves he had to make.

Bacary Sagna: 8/10
Tremendous energy levels and was virtually a winger in the Arsenal attacks. Dealt well with Varela and made some great tackles.

Sol Campbell: 7/10
Struggled at times tonight. Overall did okay, but at times couldn’t cope with the tricky Falco. One thing I did notice (and like) from Campbell was that he ignored every taunt or expression from opposing players. Whenever anything happened with a Porto attacker he would just get up and walk away. Brilliant!

Thomas Vermaelen: 9/10
Made some really stunning defensive blocks and Almunia will be grateful for those. Solid, composed and made some vital interceptions as well.

Gael Clichy: 8/10
Like Sagna, was instrumental in adding width to the Arsenal attacks. Supported Diaby and Arshavin well, and defended well on the whole. Did make one or two silly mistakes, but fortunately Arsenal weren’t punished.

Alex Song: 8/10
Made some great interceptions and tracked back well. Tarnished his performance slightly by trying to over-play now and then after winning the ball, which resulted in cheaply losing possession.

Abou Diaby: 8/10
Much improved work ethic this season and linked up well with Song, Nasri and the front three. Helped dominate the midfield which ultimately decided the tempo of the match.

Samir Nasri: 10/10
Just about perfect. Scored a stunning goal, saved a certain goal off the line and ran his socks off. Great desire and that was possibly the most impressive thing about his performance. All over the pitch and some of his touches were breathtaking. He was inspirational and he was instrumental in setting that high energy tempo which Porto couldn’t handle. A complete performance.

Andrei Arshavin: 7/10
It’s crazy to say this since he made 3 goals but he was on the periphery for most of the game. But I suppose with talent and skill like his it only takes a moment to show his brilliance.

Tomas Rosicky: 7/10
High energy performance and worked well for the team.

Nicklas Bendtner: 9/10
Fantastic performance from the Dane. He won countless headers, held the ball up well, showed great desire and scored 3 goals to boot. Showed character after his Jason Lee-esque finishing at the weekend but really put in a great shift against Porto. He is vital to whether Arsenal will win anything this season, so let’s hope he keeps this up.

Emmanuel Eboue: 8/10 (Replaced Rosicky 58′)
Only came on for a 30 minute cameo but was excellent. Show fantastic desire to score his goal and won the penalty for Bendtner’s third. Look dangerous whenever he got the ball and never carelessly gave away possession.

Denilson: 7/10 (Replaced Nasri 72′)
Slotted in midfield well but really wasn’t asked to do much.

Theo Walcott: 7/10 (Replaced Arshavin 76′)
Looked lively but couldn’t quite make the kind of impact he did at the weekend.

Before the Sunderland game, I said we needed to win all of our remaining 12 games to stand any chance to winning the league.

At the start of these 12 games, we were 6 points behind Chelsea and 5 behind Manchester United.

And now? After 3 straight wins in a row we’re amazingly level on points with Chelsea (although they have a game in hand) and only 2 behind Manchester United.

Who would have believed that during February?

At the weekend, Arsenal dominated the game both in terms of possession and chances but couldn’t kill off Burnley. We deservedly went 1-0 up with a well-taken goal from Fabregas but after that struggled to get the second goal.

Nicklas Bendtner in particular was guilty of missing sitter after sitter but strangely, I wasn’t too bothered. Of course, I was concerned but it wasn’t the usual annoyance you’d usually feel towards someone who was wasting so many chances. Mainly because you felt that Arsenal should score another soon and that Bendtner scored that hugely vital goal at Stoke last week.

The fact is we’ve got 12 cup ties and the only thing that matters is the 3 points.

So if there’s a game where you want him to miss chances then it’s against Burnley.

But like several times this season, it looked like we would pay for our profligacy. Burnley scored against the run of play through David Nugent, which is always possible with our defending from set-pieces and on the break.

Fortunately though, after that the impressive Theo Walcott put us back in the lead but it was a nervy last half an hour until Arshavin smashed home a third in injury time.

You can talk about the performance, but all I care about is the 3 points.

Well done Arsenal.

Last weekend, Arsenal were courageous.

After the horrific injury to Aaron Ramsey and the game poised at 1-1, you could be forgiven thinking Arsenal wouldn’t rally and grab all three points.

But that’s what they did.

There have been comparisons to the Eduardo injury and how that Birmingham game panned out. We went a goal down, got ourselves into a winning position thanks to a Theo Walcott double and then we conceded a last minute penalty. William Gallas completely lost the plot and the rest is history. At the end of the season we would look back and point to that game as the turning point of our seasons title challenge.

But against Stoke City, we showed great character and mental strength to win the game.

And the major difference? We have a winner in the team. Someone that has been there and done that. A player who is obviously greatly respected in the dressing room for what he has achieved in his career.

That man is Sol Campbell.

When you compare him to William Gallas, who was effectively and ironically Campbell’s replacement, it’s clear that while the Frenchman is a fantastic player and athlete, he doesn’t command the same respect as someone of Campbell’s stature.

Campbell has had his critics, but he is a leader and players follow his example.

When Ramsey was shockingly hacked down by Mother Theresa, Sol was the first man to show his frustration and square up to Shawcock. Players like Fabregas, Vermaelen and Clichy followed his example and also his determination to win the game.

I’ve said in the past that with this young group of players, we are missing the raw anger when we score. If you don’t know what I mean, watch the goal celebrations from Bergkamp, Henry, Vieira, Pires, Freddie and the rest of the team in those successful years between 1998 to 2005.

Take a look at these celebrations from years gone by:

Patrick Vieira versus Spurs
Dennis Bergkamp versus Manchester United
Thierry Henry versus Spurs

There’s that swagger and arrogance about them. It’s a “f*ck you we’re the best, get in there!” attitude you have when you’re a winner. Winning is a state of mind and the only player who goes mental when they score is Robin Van Persie. He believes that his goals will make the difference and could contribute to winning a trophy.

The celebrations when Fabregas and Vermaelen scored against Stoke were just like the old days. Of course, the horrific injury to Ramsey contributed to the adrenaline filled celebrations but everyone went crazy. Vermaelen’s celebration was full of emotion and who was leading the fist pumping?

The Sol Train.

You can’t fault the guy’s record - he is a winner pure and simple. When he saw the light and went to the red side of North London he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, and won the FA Cup with Portsmouth a couple of seasons ago. Credit to him, he even won a League Cup with Spurs, which is an achievement in itself.

I’ve said that once Van Persie’s injury we’ve missed his arrogance and determination on the pitch. Obviously his goals and assists, he is a winner. He wants to win. Winning is everything and he is one of the few leaders in the squad. You have players like Denilson and who don’t seem to care half the time.

We’ve all said that experience makes the difference when it gets the business end of the season, so if Arsenal can pull off probably one of the most surprising title wins of recent years then Sol Campbell could well be one of Arsene’s greatest ever signings.

Arsenal have been missing that winning influence, to keep on fighting until the end even when things are going against you. That ruthlessness to kill off games and take home all the points.

So in a team that is full of players who don’t know what it’s like to win, Sol could just be that difference come May.