Barca coach Pep Guardiola spoke on the eve of the quarter-final first leg with his usual enthusiasm about Arsene Wenger's achievements during his long tenure in the Arsenal job.
Guardiola sounded perfectly genuine as he envisaged a spectacle worthy of the reputations of two clubs renowned for attacking football played with pace and guile.
The 39-year-old Catalan, who masterminded Barcelona's European Cup success in his first season in charge, is not about to sacrifice the trophy in the pursuit of pure football.
"We will try to provide a good spectacle for the whole of Europe, against a team that has for years provided an example of how you can play good football," the softly-spoken coach told reporters.
"Mr Wenger is one of the best coaches in the world, someone who has changed the culture of his club. Everyone admires Arsenal and their style. It is an honour to play against them."
"We will have to be extremely alert, and to play closer together," he warned. "We need to be solid and compact when we don't have the ball."
Of course, Barcelona would seek an away goal, he said, only to add: "You cannot attack well if you don't defend well."
"He's a huge player for us," the coach said. "He's very important - someone who can play in different positions, is good one-on-one and a smart player who keeps the ball better than anyone."
"I assume they are a better player with him," Guardiola said. "But remember, they beat Porto 5-0 without him."
