Manager Arsene Wenger has rejected suggestions that Arsenal were gifted a relatively easy tie against Monaco in the Champions League.
After facing and crashing out to Milan and Bayern Munich twice in the last three seasons, the Gunners can finally hope to reach the Last 8 of Europe's most prestigious competition.
But the 65-year-old says victory over Leonardo Jardim's side will be far from easy.
"The last 16 in recent years has been super tough," Wenger told the club's official website.
"This is a 50:50 game. We know that Monaco are very tight defensively - they didn't concede in the group stage against good teams.
"Of course it will be tricky but a possible tie.
"It's really a 50:50 because Monaco are in a similar position to us. They came back into a good position in the league and their confidence level will be high.
"[The emotional ties to the draw] have not been hard. What was important for me was to win [against Crystal Palace] because we fought like mad to come back in a strong position in the league, and not to win would have been disastrous.
"The spirit is there and we want to keep that as a very strong basis. The team has come up a level and we'll see that with the results."
