Italian job for English duo

Chelsea and Arsenal must both overcome tough Italian tests in the last 16 of the Champions League after Friday's draw in Nyon.

The London clubs are the last remaining Barclays Premier League sides in the competition following the exits of Manchester United and Manchester City in the group phase.

But managers Andre Villas-Boas and Arsene Wenger must overcome Serie A opponents if they are to reach the quarter-final stage, with Chelsea drawing Napoli and the Gunners landing AC Milan. As group winners both English sides will play away in the first leg, which takes place on 14/15 or 21/22 February, before the return fixtures on 6/7 and 13/14 March.

Chelsea's opponents Napoli were responsible for City's exit after taking four points off Roberto Mancini's side in Group A and their forward pairing of Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi is one of the most feared in Europe.

Villas-Boas feels his side have been handed "one of the most difficult draws" and said he knows all about the threat posed by Napoli from his time working under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.

Villas-Boas told Chelsea TV: "Napoli is a club that represents the city and the city has great empathy with the club. It has a tremendous fan base and it is one of the most difficult and exciting games of the last 16, no doubt about it.

"They are a side that works collectively very well and [Napoli coach] Walter Mazzarri has always been a coach that organises his teams very well. They have been improving tremendously under his guidance and have been gaining the results that they want and they expect."

Arsenal club secretary David Miles was upbeat about the testing Gunners' draw against AC Milan, highlighting his side's impressive record against Italian opposition and declaring it the "pick of the round".

"There were probably other teams we would have preferred but the last time we played them in the knockout stage, in '07-08, we actually went through and won 2-0 in the San Siro," he said.

Elsewhere in the draw, Primera Liga giants Real Madrid and Barca will play CSKA Moscow and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, Bayern Munich were drawn against Basle, Zenit St Petersburg meet Benfica, Marseille face Inter Milan and Lyon play Apoel Nicosia.