If only.
There are numerous stages of grief, and Arsenal's website was firmly stuck on the denial phase when news broke of their last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona.
Gunners' fans, logging on to the club's official website to get tickets for the tie, may have had to do a double take.
The Gunners' potential opponents were listed as Danish side Brondby.
https://twitter.com/Christian1607/status/676363223776534528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/jabloaimar/status/676363114846244864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/AAllenSport/status/676362739187589121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The Gunners may have made the knock-out stages of Europe's top club competition for the past 16 seasons in a row, but they've exited at the last-16 stage for the past five years.
Last year they capitulated in the first leg to un-fancied Monaco, losing the first leg 1-3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7H5OdzLUIs
They mounted a spirited fightback in the second leg, but failed to progress.
In the previous season, Arsenal lost the first leg of their last-16 tie 0-2 to Bayern Munich.
They mounted a spirited fightback in the second leg, but failed to progress.
In the season before that, Arsenal somehow lost the first leg 4-0 away to AC Milan.
They mounted a spirited fightback in the second leg, but failed to progress.
No prizes for guessing how the 2016 version of Arsenal in the Champions League knock-phase goes.
