Arsenal Discovers Champions League Fate: Who Could the Gunners Face in 2025-26 League Phase?
Arsenal focus their attention on the Champions League once more during a crucial campaign for Mikel Arteta.
The Spanish coach is anticipated to secure trophies this term following substantial investment that brought in players like Eberechi Eze, Viktor Gyökeres, Martín Zubimendi and others. Since their Champions League return two seasons back, Arsenal have established themselves as one of the stronger teams in the tournament. However, the ultimate prize continues to slip away from the Gunners.
Approaching their third consecutive year in UEFA's premier competition after an extended period in the Europa League, indicators of steady European progress look promising for the Gunners. It's never straightforward to simply advance further next time, but they'll discover their destiny soon as the Champions League league phase draw occurs Thursday.
Here's an examination of Arsenal's possible opponents in the league phase, the most challenging teams they might encounter and which ones they'll completely avoid.
Which 2025–26 Champions League Pot Contains Arsenal?
Arsenal find themselves in Champions League Pot 2, indicating their draw this campaign could prove somewhat challenging given the loaded Pot 1. This placement stems from their UEFA coefficient ranking below the nine clubs ahead of them.
Despite Arsenal finishing higher than Manchester City and Chelsea in the Premier League last season, the Gunners are positioned one level down for the draw.
However, Arsenal ranked among the tournament's top performers last season, placing third in the league phase before their semifinal exit to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain. Considering their transfer window reinforcements, they will probably rate their chances regardless of the draw.
Arsenal's Possible 2025–26 Champions League League Phase Matchups
Club | Nation | Pot |
|---|---|---|
PSG | France | 1 |
Real Madrid | Spain | 1 |
Bayern Munich | Germany | 1 |
Inter | Italy | 1 |
Borussia Dortmund | Germany | 1 |
Barcelona | Spain | 1 |
Bayer Leverkusen | Germany | 2 |
Atlético Madrid | Spain | 2 |
Atalanta | Italy | 2 |
Villarreal | Spain | 2 |
Juventus | Italy | 2 |
Eintracht Frankfurt | Germany | 2 |
PSV Eindhoven | Netherlands | 3 |
Ajax | Netherlands | 3 |
Napoli | Italy | 3 |
Sporting CP | Portugal | 3 |
Olympiacos | Greece | 3 |
Slavia Prague | Czechia | 3 |
Marseille | France | 3 |
Monaco | France | 3/4 |
Galatasaray | Türkiye | 4 |
Union Saint-Gilloise | Belgium | 4 |
Athletic Club | Spain | 4 |
Several regulations to highlight: Arsenal cannot face a Premier League team in the league phase. Therefore, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United and rivals Tottenham Hotspur are excluded. Additionally, Arsenal will meet two clubs from each pot, with the Gunners receiving home and away fixtures within each pot. Lastly, Arsenal cannot encounter more than two teams from the same nation.
The Pot 1 clubs feature PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona. Throughout the previous two tournaments, Arsenal have faced four of their potential six opponents from this group.
Pot 2 features the revamped Bayer Leverkusen, Atlético Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus and Eintracht Frankfurt. Arsenal drew with Atalanta last season during the league phase.
Pot 3 might see Arsenal meet PSV Eindhoven again in European competition having encountered each other in both the Champions League and Europa League recently. Additional opponents feature Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Marseille and possibly Monaco depending on qualifier outcomes. Some compelling possibilities exist there considering Viktor Gyökeres confronting his former club, a clash with the Serie A champions or even Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marseille.
Completing the opponents in Pot 4 are Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise and Athletic Club.
Arsenal's Most Challenging Potential 2025–26 Champions League League Phase Opponents
PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona represent the most formidable options in Pot 1. Nevertheless, Arsenal did overcome PSG in the league phase and knocked out Real Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Regarding Bayern and Barcelona, it could provide the opportunity to achieve some form of retribution given their historic encounters in the competition. Bayern traditionally dominated Arsenal while Barcelona defeated Arsenal the sole time the Gunners reached the competition's final in 2006. Should Arsenal draw Borussia Dortmund, they will probably consider themselves fortunate to avoid two difficult matches from that selection.
Mikel Arteta's team likely backs themselves for the remainder, but there are some spectacular clashes possible elsewhere including Atlético Madrid, Juventus and Napoli.