Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand share a plane with Arsenal fans as BT Sport duo jet out to Barcelona for Champions League tie

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Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand shared a plane with dozens of Arsenal fans as the BT Sport duo jetted out to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Lineker will front the broadcaster's coverage of the Champions League last-16 second-leg meeting between the Gunners and the Spanish giants in the Nou Camp, with Ferdinand providing punditry, and the pair boarded an early flight to ensure they arrived in Catalonia with plenty of time to spare before kick-off.

A picture, shared by Lineker on the Match Of The Day presenter's Instagram account, showed the two former pros prior to take-off.

Gary Lineker flew out to Barcelona with Rio Ferdinand and several Arsenal fans on Wednesday morning

The Gunners take on Barca at the Nou Camp for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals 

Arsene Wenger's team have it all to do in Spain, having lost the first leg 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium

The ex-Leicester and Barca striker wrote: 'Early @british_airways flight to #barcelona with lots of #arsenal fans and @rioferdy5'

Arsenal go into the encounter in Spain with a mammoth task on their hands if they are to reach the quarter-finals.

Arsene Wenger's side are 2-0 down on aggregate, having been soundly beaten at the Emirates Stadium three weeks ago.

'The advantage in our position is that the task is clear,' said Wenger. 'We need to score two or three goals. We have to attack. That's what we like to do. 

'The magicians of Barcelona will demand the key for us will be a solid defensive performance.' 

Wenger has admitted Arsenal's chances of progression are slim but has pledged to attack against Barca

The Gunners will need to contain the prolific strikeforce of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez, however

While Manchester City secured their place in the last eight with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday, Chelsea and Manchester United made early exits from this season's competition.

Arsenal are likely to be the third English team to fall by the wayside and Ferdinand believes the Premier League's performance in Europe in 2015/16 points at a glaring lack of world-class stars on these shores.

He said of the continent's top clubs: 'There's a consistency among these teams within the leagues they play in, they can go 20 games on a winning streak drawing a couple and maybe losing one.

'I think back then (when English teams were successful in the Champions League) the best players in the world, there were some in this country. At the moment there aren't any.'

Argentinian forward Messi scored both goals for the Spanish champions in the first leg three weeks ago