Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Rangers now know who they will face in the UEFA Champions League group stage. Thursday's draw in Monaco has thrown up a host of intriguing fixtures in Europe's elite club competition.
Liverpool head up Group E and will tackle French giants Lyon, Serie A side Fiorentina and Hungarian outfit Debreceni as Rafa Benitez'sYour browser may not support display of this image. men aim to repeat their 2005 success.
Manchester UnitedYour browser may not support display of this image. - winners in 2008 and finalists in 2009 - are the top seeds in Group B, with Sir Alex Ferguson'sYour browser may not support display of this image. side facing lengthy trips to CSKA Moscow and Besiktas, while they must also tackle German champions Wolfsburg.
Chelsea have to overcome Porto, Atletico MadridYour browser may not support display of this image. and APOEL Nicosia if they are to secure safe passage from Group D into the knockout phase as they aim to claim the trophy which has become something of a Holy Grail for the Stamford Bridge club.
Arsenal tackle Champions League newcomers AZ Alkmaar,Your browser may not support display of this image. Greek powerhouse Olympiakos and Belgian side Standard Liege in Group H after overcoming Celtic in their qualifying round.
Rangers' bid to reach the latter stages in Europe sees them placed in Group G alongside top seeds Sevilla, Stuttgart and Unirea Urziceni of Romania.
Brazilian playmaker Kaka has been handed an immediate return to AC MilanYour browser may not support display of this image. with Real Madrid paired alongside his former club, plus Marseille and FC Zurich in Group C.
Defending champions Barcelona tackle Inter Milan in Group F - in two clashes which will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o facing their former clubs - with Dynamo KievYour browser may not support display of this image. and Rubin KazanYour browser may not support display of this image. completing the quartet.
Bayern Munich,Your browser may not support display of this image. who lifted the trophy in 2001, are up against Juventus, French champions Bordeaux and Maccabi Haifa in Group A.
The clubs will now meet home and away across six matchdays from September to December with the top two qualifying for the knockout phase, with the ultimate prize on offer in the final at Real's Santiago Bernabeu on 22nd May.
Champions League groups and fixture schedule
Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa.
Group B: Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg.
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich.
Group D: Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL Nicosia.
Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni.
Group F: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, Rubin Kazan.
Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni.
Group H: Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege.
Matchday 1: 15th/16th September
Matchday 2: 29th/30th September
Matchday 3: 20th/21st October
Matchday 4: 3rd/4th November
Matchday 5: 24th/25th November
Matchday 6: 8th/9th December
Champions League Draw
Arsenal see off Hoops
EDUARDO DA SILVA had better not visit Glasgow any time soon.
Not unless he has developed a taste for hospital food.
Arsenal's Croatian international striker has already spent more than enough time in plaster following his horrific leg break last year.
But that would be nothing compared to the damage he would suffer if the angry Celtic fans could get their hands on him.
For those travelling supporters will return to Scotland this morning convinced their team have been cheated of the chance to compete with Europe's elite.
And who can blame them, after Eduardo's outrageous first-half dive to con Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez?
All 2,600 Celtic supporters in the Emirates' away end had a bird's eye view of the appalling act of simulation which led to Arsenal's decisive penalty.
Unlike Senor Gonzalez, they could clearly see there was no contact between Eduardo and keeper Artur Boruc before the Brazilian-born lightweight threw himself to the ground.
It was so blatant even the infamously myopic Arsene Wenger conceded it was never a penalty.
No wonder Boruc went loco when Gonzalez pointed to the spot. It was almost enough to make you feel sorry for our Caledonian chums. Almost.
To add insult to injury, it was Eduardo who dusted himself off to send Boruc the wrong way with his unerring 27th-minute penalty.
It was a travesty of a goal and one which allowed Celtic to claim they had been the victims of an appalling miscarriage of justice.
A deflection and an own-goal in the first leg and a dive in the second. That is what they will swear has sealed the Gunners' Champions League place for a 12th successive season.
The truth, of course, is that Celtic were comprehensively outplayed by Wenger's young team over the two legs of this qualifying tie.
They hardly threatened Manuel Almunia's goal until Massimo Donati's stunning angled volley with the final kick of the game.
But that consolation strike was as good as it got for the pride of Scotland. William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen were once again outstanding at the heart of Arsenal's back four, while Denilson and Abou Diaby totally ran the midfield.
Even Nickolas Bendtner looked a potential world-beater when his clever back-heel allowed Emmanuel Eboue to finish off a sublime Arsenal move in the 54th minute.
And it was the same sorry story for Celtic 20 minutes later, when Andrey Arshavin exchanged passes with fellow sub Aaron Ramsey to score within seconds of his introduction.
Yet the undisputed reality of Arsenal's superiority has still been tainted by Eduardo's gamesmanship.
The sad thing is he did not need to resort to skulduggery. He more than had the beating of Celtic's defence with his God-given ability.
He should have put this tie beyond Celtic's reach in the opening minutes but stabbed the ball wide after Boruc had clawed out Bendtner's shot.
And he was denied by another flying save from Celtic's giant Polish keeper shortly before the break.
Tony Mowbray's team were already well beaten by then, the last remaining stuffing knocked out of them by that contentious penalty.
All they had to offer after that was Scottish pride and a burning sense of grievance. Yet what they lacked in quality they more than made up for with commitment and effort. Like an angry swarm of radioactive wasps in their day-glo hooped shirts, they snapped and flapped in Arsenal's ears.
Gary Caldwell and Aidan McGeady were both yellow carded for industrial-strength challenges on Eboue and Diaby. Denilson and Scott Brown were also booked for a late bust-up.
No one would have relished those meaty tussles more than watching Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, ahead of Saturday's visit from Arsenal.
Wenger insists that qualification for the Champions League is far more important than any Premier League trip to Old Trafford.
But Saturday's encounter with United will tell us just how good his youngsters really are.
No one at the Emirates has forgotten the ruthless manner in which they were taken apart in the semi-finals of last season's Champions League.
They are determined to show they are now genuine trophy contenders, after far too long without silverware.
And today's draw in Monaco will confirm Arsenal's place among Europe's top-seeded high-fliers.
Qualification for the league stages will be worth £20million, more than enough to satisfy the bean-counters.
Wenger is above such financial concerns. For him, the Champions League is more a matter of pride and prestige.
What a pity his sense of moral superiority has been tainted by Eduardo's chicanery.
Arsenal ran riot against Villarreal at Emirates
Arsenal are now in the Champions League semi-final after sweeping past Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium. Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie were on the scoresheet as Arsene Wenger's youngsters defied their injury worries in defence to wrap up the tie within an hour. The Spaniards had Sebastian Eguren dismissed, and the hosts were then able to conserve energy for their FA Cup clash against Chelsea at the weekend. If they win at Wembley there will be genuine hope of getting something out a season where many predicted them to slip out of the traditional top four in England. Wenger himself admits he has been amazed by how his young players have gone 18 Barclays Premier League games without defeat - and this performance will have impressed him too. But nothing has been easy at Arsenal this season. Earlier in the campaign William Gallas was stripped of the captaincy, now Wenger is desperately short on numbers in at the back. Ahead of this clash, Bacary Sagna was taken ill, meaning an entire back four was missing as Arsenal protected their slender away-goals advantage. Kolo Toure held together a defence that contained Emmanuel Eboue at right-back, Kieran Gibbs at left-back and inexperienced Lucasz Fabianski in goal.
It was a fascinating clash, with Walcott almost putting the ball out of play early on when Pires picked up a knock, only to carry on with the ball to set up an attack.
The 20-year-old showed his ruthless side again when he netted the opener in the 10th minute.
Eboue slipped the ball forward from the right, Cesc Fabregas' flick allowed Walcott to run through on goal, with the England winger chipping home high over goalkeeper Diego Lopez.
It was reward for Arsenal's bright start after Van Persie went close with a header that cleared the crossbar and a long-range effort that Lopez gathered at the second attempt.
The hosts were inches from adding a second goal after Van Persie's powerful free-kick was saved by Lopez. Adebayor's follow-up header got deflected on target but Gonzalo Rodriguez hacked off the line. All eyes were on the assistant referee but it would have been the tightest of calls if he had flagged for a goal. The equation for Villarreal shifted only slightly - they still needed a goal.
Diego Godin had given Wenger's side an early scare when he got on the end of Giuseppe Rossi's free-kick and forced Fabianski into a save with his scissor-kick. The visitors then caused some nervous moments in Arsenal's defence before the break, with Rossi getting sight of goal at the near post before the hosts scrambled clear. Pires also had a shot blocked from the edge of the area, while Godin headed over from a corner in first-half stoppage-time. Manuel Pellegrini's men sensed that it was their time to apply pressure on Arsenal's makeshift defence. It meant all hands on deck for Wenger's makeshift back line. Arsenal's best option was to counter attack. Van Persie was making runs from deep to cause Villarreal problems, with Godin picking up a booking for stopping one run. No opponent got close enough to Van Persie on the hour mark and he sent through Adebayor, who took one touch before finishing past Lopez with the outside of his boot.
The third came from Van Persie's penalty and also saw Eguran dismissed. Godin took Walcott's legs away in the penalty area but escaped a second booking for the offence. Eguran, who got a yellow card in the first half, got another caution for dissent and then disgracefully put his hands on the referee while protesting more. Van Persie kept his nerve and fired in the spot-kick.
Wenger's goalscorers were then given a breather to rest for the battles ahead.