Arsenal’s Champions League League Phase opponents are set, as are everybody else’s but who really cares about them. The Gunners [something about the draw]. The club won’t be able to better last season’s League Phase — they won all eight matches with a +19 goal difference. Their first place finish guaranteed them home field in the second leg throughout the knockouts. The club that finishes second earns the same.
Sidenote: as I say every single year, writing “Champions League League Phase” makes my
writer brain itch in a horrid way. Couldn’t they have come up with a better name?!
We had a “new” wrinkle to the draw this year: Arsenal could not draw away to Inter Milan nor could Liverpool draw Real Madrid at home. You’re not permitted to have the exact same fixture three seasons in a row. Of course, that’s not a new thing per se, it’s just that you could not have that rule come into effect before year three of the new format. As always, clubs could not draw other clubs from their home league.
Arsenal’s League Phase opponents:
Real Madrid – a reunion of the 2025 quarterfinal, where Arsenal downed Madrid 5-1 on aggregate. The Gunners beat Madrid 3-0 at the Emirates with those two stunning free kicks from Declan Rice and followed it up with a massive win at the Bernabeu. Even though Arsenal went out to PSG in the ensuing semifinal, that Madrid tie felt like a watershed moment for the club, putting everyone, everywhere on notice that they’re true European contenders.
Bayern Munich (A) – the Gunners comprehensively beat Bayern 3-1 at the Emirates in last season’s league phase, but away matches are a different thing.
Borussia Dortmund
Real Betis (A)
Lille
Napoli (A)
Sabah
Slavia Praha
I’m working on finishing the analysis imminently, but I wanted to get the opponents up as quickly as possible.
The rest of the Champions League League Phase draw is here (updated when published). The full schedule will not release until Saturday, August 29th.
Here are the pots.
Pot 1: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) Bayern Munich (GER) Real Madrid (ESP) Liverpool (ENG) Inter (ITA) Man City (ENG) Arsenal (ENG) Barcelona (ESP) Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Pot 2: Borussia Dortmund (GER) Roma (ITA) Sporting CP (POR) Aston Villa (ENG) Porto (POR) Man United (ENG) Club Brugge (BEL) Real Betis (ESP) PSV (NED)
Pot 3: Feyenoord (NED) Lille (FRA) Bodo/Glimt (NOR) Napoli (ITA) RB Leipzig (GER) Villarreal (ESP) Fenerbahçe (TUR) Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) Galatasaray (TUR)
Pot 4: Slavia Prague (CZE) Slovan Bratislava (SVK) Stuttgart (GER) AEK Athens (GRE) LASK (AUT) Como (ITA) Lens (FRA) Viking (NOR) Sabah (AZE)
