European flavour to domestic battle

Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC will meet for the 200th time in 114 years in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final in London on 2 April – but it will be their first encounter in European competition.

Famous encounters
Coincidentally, the first match at Arsenal and the return at Anfield six days later sandwich their Premier League fixture on 5 April in the English capital. These games will evoke memories of the clubs' famous meetings of the past, such as Arsenal's 2-0 final-day win at Liverpool in 1989 to snatch the championship and the epic four-match FA Cup semi-final nine years before. But it is the coming games, and the chance to earn a tie against either Chelsea FC or Fenerbahçe SK, which occupy the minds of the two managers.

Next hurdle
Arsène Wenger led Arsenal to the final in 2006 but two years earlier they fell at this stage in an all-English match against Chelsea. But having put AC Milan out in the last round, the Gunners now turn their attentions to the team the Rossoneri beat in the 2007 decider. "We just knocked Milan out, that was a big hurdle," Wenger said. "We were strong enough to knock the holders out so let's do it against Liverpool. I said, ideally, you would like to play a foreign team because it's Europe but I prepared myself to play anyone. We are highly determined to go through. When you play so many games against each other, I feel it will just be like a championship game."

Anfield advantage
Liverpool were held 1-1 at Anfield by Arsenal in the Premier League this season and were eliminated by the Londoners from last term's FA Cup and League Cup. However, the Merseysiders lead Arsenal in head-to-head wins by 80 to 70 and defeated Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals of 2005 and 2007. With the second leg at home, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez is hopeful of taking another step towards a sixth European crown. "We were expecting to play against a top side so we knew Arsenal could be one of the options, but we will approach the game with confidence because we are playing well," Benitez said. "Playing the second game at home could be very positive for us because, always when we play at Anfield, it is an inspiration to us. When you play against a good team the small details can make the difference."