Chelsea and Arsenal were handed tough draws in the last 16 of the Champions League with the Blues facing Napoli while the Gunners have the small matter of AC Milan to contend with.

With both the English sides seeded any hopes of a potential easy passage through to the quarter-finals were soon dispelled, with Chelsea paired with the side who went through in second spot from Manchester City’s group, and Italian giants Milan standing in the way of Arsenal’s hopes of a quarter-final spot.

Both English sides have the advantage of being away in the first leg with Arsenal at the San Siro on February 15 with the return leg at the Emirates on March 6. Chelsea are in Napoli on February 21 before the Stamford Bridge return on March 14.

The two ties involving the English club appear to be the picks of the round with, elsewhere, Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid v CSKA Moscow, Marseille v Inter Milan, Lyon v APOEL, Basel v Bayern Munich, and Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica.

In the Europa League last 32, meanwhile, all the English sides were drawn against teams with proven European pedigrees, Manchester City arguably facing the toughest assignment against holders Porto.

Fellow Champions League evictees and city rivals Manchester United face Ajax, while Stoke are rewarded for being the only English to qualify by right with a tie against Valencia. The first legs will be played February 15/16 with the returns a week later.