Gunners risk Barca tie

ARSENAL will find out the price that must be paid for their failure to secure top spot in their Champions League group today, with favourites Barcelona among their four potential last-16 opponents.

That the Gunners ended up needing to win their final match against Partizan Belgrade to progress to the first knockout round — after winning three matches on the trot at the start of Group H — is being blamed mainly on Arsene Wenger’s decision to rotate his squad before qualification was assured.

As Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid and last season’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich are potential opponents, Wenger will presumably hope for a pairing with Schalke, who finished above Lyon in Group B but find themselves languishing in 10th spot in the Bundesliga, having suffered seven defeats and struggling badly for consistency.