Arsenal could have just been handed big advantage in title race

The Premier League title race is entering its final furlong with just ten games left to play.

Arsenal hold a five-point advantage over Manchester City, but neither side can be said to have their fate entirely in their own hands (or, more accurately, both can) given that Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand and there is still a head-to-head Premier League meeting between the two set to be played in April.

Both sides have other commitments, too: both remain in the FA Cup and they will meet each other in the League Cup final on Sunday, March 22.

Champions League draw gives Arsenal kinder draw on paper than Manchester City

But it is the Champions League draw that makes for the most interesting reading when it comes to how it might impact the two sides' title hopes.

The final draw for the round of 16 was made on Friday morning, with the route through to the final also set in stone in the process - and Arsenal's side of the draw is looking rather more inviting than City's.

Arsenal have been drawn against Bayer Leverkusen, with Atalanta the other possibility. The Italian outfit will instead face Bayern Munich.

There may not be much to call between those two possibilities for Arsenal, really - but their path into the latter rounds looks more generous than what City may need to tackle.

In the quarter-finals, Arsenal will take on either Portuguese side Sporting or Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt, who should not be taken for granted given they saw off Inter in the play-off round having also beaten Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league phase.

The semi-final on that side of the draw could potentially pit Arsenal against Newcastle, Barcelona, Atletico or (come on now, let this happen) Tottenham Hotspur.

That's still a tough assignment - but consider City's predicament. They will face Real Madrid in the round of 16, with the winners of that game likely to face a rampant Bayern Munich who have only lost two games in all competitions this season.

Aside from three league draws, they have won all of their other matches, making Vincent Kompany's side a potentially tough assignment should he get a reunion with his former club City.

The other sides on that side of the draw - who could face City in the semis if they make it there - are Chelsea, Liverpool, unfancied Galatasaray, and reigning champions PSG.

The upshot is that City look more likely than Arsenal to be going into their Premier League games straight off the back of gruelling games.

Of course, it's not necessarily as simple as that. We doubt Arteta is exactly licking his lips at the prospect of going to the Arctic circle should Bodo/Glimt pull off another upset against Sporting, for instance.

It's also possible that one side or the other could go out of the competition earlier than the other, allowing them to devote more full attention to the league.

But should both City and Arsenal get through at he quarter-finals, there is another advantage in that Arsenal will be playing their second leg home just a few days before their head-to-head meeting away to City on the weekend of April 18.

City, meanwhile, would be away from home in that midweek slot, potentially against Bayern Munich.

The home and away split is determined by placement in the league phase, with the sides who finish in the top four given the supposed advantage of playing their second-leg games at home. Arsenal topped the league phase while City finished 8th.