Arsenal vs Barcelona: Gunners aren't scared of Barca at their best, warns Francis Coquelin

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James Olley23 February 2016

Francis Coquelin believes Barcelona have peaked at the right time for tonight’s Champions League showdown but urged Arsenal not to show any fear as they attempt to knock out the European champions.

Barcelona arrive for the last-16, first leg showdown aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the ninth consecutive season.

The Catalan giants are unbeaten in 32 matches dating back to October 3 — surpassing a record of 29 games set by Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering predecessors — and have won a staggering 83 out of 104 matches since Luis Enrique Martinez took charge.

The Gunners have struggled to find their best form in recent weeks but Coquelin insists they should be inspired by October’s 2-0 win over Bayern Munich and back themselves to cause another upset.

“In the Champions League, it is always about details,” said the Arsenal midfielder. “There is going to be quite a lot of them because they are so powerful in every part of the pitch.

“Everyone needs to be 100 per cent and I don’t think we need to play with fear. It is a great game to play. We are playing the best team in Europe. We need to be ready and believe we can do something. If we have that belief, we can do great things.

“We showed against Bayern Munich a few months ago. Not many people said we could win this game but we showed we can compete with great teams as well.

“Even if you don’t watch Barcelona, someone will tell you about them because of what they do every weekend. Everyone will know about Barcelona, every player and everything they do. This month, they have probably been at their best so we will have to be at our best to compete with the opposition they are going to give us.

“We are really looking forward to it. Barcelona are probably the best team in the world at the moment. Every player wants to play these types of games.”

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