Chelsea against Arsenal was the Champions League quarter-final draw neither club wanted -- but one wanted it a lot less than the other.
The draw at least guarantees one London team will appear in the semi-finals for the first time -- against Real Madrid or Monaco -- but so bad is Chelsea's record against Arsenal that they would probably have preferred to take on the nine-times champion Spanish giants first-up.
Chelsea's recent record against Arsenal is awful and it has continued unchecked this season as the Gunners chalked up two league wins and another in the FA Cup.
That means it is 16 games since Chelsea beat their London rivals, and even that was a League Cup success against a below-strength side in January 1999.
Chelsea's last league win in the fixture was a 1-0 success in 1995 while their last league success at Highbury predates the premier league -- a 1-0 success 14 years ago.
ANTI-CLIMAX
Arsenal vice-president David Dein said the draw was an anti-climax.
"One of the joys of playing the Champions League is facing continental opposition, but this time it is not to be," he said.
"But I think they should be two really terrific games and there's a very juicy semi-final if we manage to get that far."
Manager Arsene Wenger, seeking a treble of Champions League, premier league and FA Cup, admitted his side would start favourites.
"We have beaten Chelsea three times already this season so we know we can do it if we play at our best," he said.
"I admit that maybe we have a psychological advantage over Chelsea because of our good record against them, but they have all been hard games.
"I know that good runs always have to come to an end at some point, but hopefully this one ends as late as possible."
Wenger also saw other positives from the draw. He pointed out that the guarantee of an English club in the last four will help the premier league retain four Champions League places -- not that his side should need to look beyond the top two for their slot.
The all-London clash also means that Dennis Bergkamp will be available for the away leg. The Dutch striker has a fear of flying that often rules him out of travelling abroad.
Chelsea's away record in Europe this season has been fantastic, five wins out of five without a goal conceded, but the shortest trip of all, the few miles from west to north London, could prove the toughest tip to date.
"It is an anti-climax for us," said Chelsea's club secretary David Barnard. "We hoped to avoid them. It would have been nice if our fans had another chance to use their passports.
"We have played them three times already this season and we have not beaten them in 16 games, but we are confident we can win this tie and this is the perfect opportunity to end that run."
Chelsea are at home in the first leg on Wednesday March 24 with the return at Highbury on Tuesday April 6.
It is the first all-English meeting in the competition since Nottingham Forest knocked out holders Liverpool en route to winning the 1979 European Cup.
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