Arsenal v Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday is the very definition of ‘must-watch’, so be sure to settle in exclusively live with us on BT Sport Europe or in stunning Ultra HD (4K) from 7pm for what promises to be an enthralling last-16 first leg.

For almost everyone tuning in either on TV, right here on BTSport.com or on the BT Sport app, the burning question will be whether Arsenal can solve arguably the toughest dilemma in football – how to stop Luis Enrique’s all-conquering band of artisans.

The Catalan giants have already dashed Arsenal’s Champions League hopes on three occasions in the past decade, beating them in the 2006 final and then over two legs in both 2010 and 2011.

Relive Arsenal's Champions League great escape

With front three Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar dovetailing to such devastating effect, many critics believe the current Barcelona vintage is stronger than the one which swept all before it in such breathtaking style under Pep Guardiola.

It has even been suggested that they are the greatest team the sport has ever witnessed.

While such a claim may seem premature, it will be tough to refute if they manage to become the first side to retain their European crown in the Champions League era in May, especially if the triumph is achieved with the kind of effortless swagger they have shown this season.

What chance, then, for an Arsenal team who barely scraped through their group and come into this game on the back of a goalless home draw against Championship leaders Hull?

They would settle for simply breaking Barcelona’s club-record 32-match unbeaten streak and making the return leg anything less than a foregone conclusion – no mean feat in itself.

But the so-called ‘MSN’ trident, with 91 goals between them in all competitions already this season, will have caused the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker nightmares ever since the draw was made in December.

With the promptings of probable midfield trio Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Ivan Rakitic supplemented by marauding raids from full-backs Jordi Alba and Dani Alves, the Gunners will clearly need to defend for their lives to have any chance of securing a positive first-leg result.

However, one of the most intriguing aspects of this latest challenge for Arsenal is that boss Arsene Wenger appears to have finally shown a willingness to bow to some well-worn criticisms of his tactical approach on such huge European nights.

The Frenchman has often been accused of stubbornness or even downright naivety for an apparent refusal to compromise his attacking philosophy against opponents who boast superior offensive riches.

Yet for all Arsenal’s struggles to even make it this far – they scraped through by the skin of their teeth with a 3-0 win at Olympiakos on matchday six – the 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in October serves as a perfect blueprint for the visit of Barcelona.

In that game, also at the Emirates, Arsenal were happy to concede the ball to Guardiola’s possession-hungry side for long periods before countering with real pace and dynamism whenever they recovered it and escaped Bayern’s high press.

Wenger is expected to adopt a similar gameplan on Tuesday, having hinted as much in his pre-game press conference, while also admitting that his charges may be left powerless to resist Barcelona's brilliance, regardless of how they try to play.

“Looking recently in these big games, in the first tie at home we can’t be stupid,” he warned.

“Many times we’ve won away and at home we’ve conceded. We have to find a good balance between defending and attacking. Individually, all their players are difficult to stop. We have to find a way to do it collectively.

“I believe that at some point in the game we’ll have to be deep because of the way they play. You can’t always stop them high.”

Arsenal 'should replicate tactics from Bayern win'

With that in mind, it will be fascinating to see how he decides to set his team up from an attacking perspective, particularly with the back five effectively picking themselves in the absence of the injured Gabriel Paulista (Petr Cech, Barcelona old boy Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, Koscielny and Mertesacker will all start).

Will he go with Theo Walcott’s explosive pace up front to make the visiting back line wary of Arsenal’s threat in behind, as he did against Bayern?

Or will Giroud’s physicality and ability to hold the ball up to give his defenders a much-needed breather be favoured?

Enrique reveals the word he uses to motivate the MSN

There is undoubtedly a case to be made for the Gunners requiring Giroud’s aerial ability at attacking set-pieces as they are, on the whole, a much taller team than Barcelona and must surely look to exploit such a clear ‘edge’ over the holders.

Another key consideration for Wenger is who starts in the double pivot alongside Francis Coquelin, with the tireless Aaron Ramsey possibly moved back to the right of the front three to allow the inclusion of further midfield steel in the shape of either Mathieu Flamini or new boy Mohamed Elneny.

However, assuming Ramsey holds on to his favoured central position, it is far from clear who will get the nod on the right.

Will Walcott be deployed there if Giroud starts? Could Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain come back in after dropping to the bench for the FA Cup disappointment against Hull? Does Joel Campbell feature in Wenger's thinking? Could fit-again Danny Welbeck, whose work-rate in such games is so invaluable, even have a surprise role to play?

Wilshere: Team spirit the best since I've been here

Most definitely nailed on to start are Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, with Wenger hoping his two most expensive signings prove worth their weight in gold when the pressure is on under the lights at the Emirates.

Sanchez, of course, is a former Barcelona player and will be desperate to make his mark on the tie by exploding back into form at the perfect possible moment after some patchy recent displays since returning from a two-month injury lay-off.

Ozil, for his part, has plenty of experience of facing Barcelona from his time at Real Madrid and provides Arsenal with an X-factor they arguably lacked in their previous meetings with the Spanish champions.

Sanchez 'will have something to prove' against Barca

Whichever team takes the field will certainly need to avoid Arsenal’s historic propensity for picking up red cards against high-class opponents in the Champions League, as was the case in the previous meeting with Barcelona.

On that occasion, they travelled to the Nou Camp with a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their last-16 clash but were reduced to ten men when Robin van Persie received a harsh second yellow card for kicking the ball away after the referee had blown for offside.

Barcelona eventually won 3-1 to take the tie 4-3 on aggregate, although even then Nicklas Bendtner spurned a glorious late chance that would have sent Arsenal through on away goals.

'If anyone can beat Barca, it's Arsenal'

Wenger can take heart from the fact that the La Liga side have never won at the Emirates, having also been pegged back to a 2-2 draw 12 months earlier in a quarter-final first leg following a stirring second-half Arsenal comeback from two goals down.

There have also been murmurings in the Spanish press about Barcelona fatigue amid Enrique's reluctance to rotate his squad and the fact that they have played 16 games since December 30th, compared to ten for Arsenal, could yet play into the Gunners' hands late in the game.

However, Wenger acknowledged that the challenge of facing Suarez, Neymar and tormentor-in-chief Messi – scorer of six goals across those two previous knock-out ties and fresh from notching his 300th La Liga goal in the 3-1 win at Sporting last week - is a unique one.

He said: “They are the most efficient [strike force in the world]. Messi scored 300 goals in 340 games, I’ve seen many strikers in my life but I’ve never seen a record like that. They are top, top class.

“I know that individually Messi, Suárez and Neymar have exceptional talent; the only way we can beat them is collectively. Resilience, great solidarity, intelligent as well, let’s not forget that we have a good defensive record and a great goalkeeper as well.

“They have a team who can score at any moment, even when dominated.”

Do Arsenal have the players to shackle Barcelona?

Giroud, for his part, believes Arsenal’s incredible last-gasp escape from the group stages proves that anything is possible in the Champions League.

“Why not win this game? We have the quality for that,” he insisted.

“They are favourites but we have a good quality and quantity this year even if we have a lot of injuries. We did well during a tough moment in the autumn and we have players back so we are very happy with that.

“We did well to qualify, it was very hard, we are looking forward to playing Barcelona, they are the best team in the world today.

“It will be different from Bayern, we just need to focus and be 100% together with good cohesion and we will put what we need in this game with a lot of commitment and determination.”

So, can Arsenal prove that Barcelona are not invincible?

“No team is perfect,” offered Wenger.

Maybe not. But the Gunners will surely need a perfect performance if they are to have any chance of shattering the visitors’ dream of retaining the trophy and carving out a unique place in football history.

Watch Arsenal v Barcelona live on BT Sport Europe or BT Sport Ultra HD from 7pm on Tuesday, February 23rd. The game will also be shown on BTSport.com and the BT Sport app, with highlights available on both platforms shortly after the final whistle.

Arsenal v Barcelona: Key stats