Remembering Arsenal’s Last Three UEFA Champions League Campaigns

Following Arsenal’s downturn in form since the start of April, it seems as though that miraculous first Premier League title in almost two decades won’t be coming to the Emirates after all. The Gunners were sitting at the top of the pile at the start of last month and had an eight-point gap to title rivals Manchester City. However, they have capitulated somewhat in recent weeks, and they now trail Pep Guardiola’s Blues by two points, while the reigning champions still have games in hand on their challengers from North London.

But even with the Premier League slipping through their fingers, there can be no denying that the 2022/23 season has been a rousing success for Mikel Arteta and his side. Last season, they finished down in fifth place after losing two of their final three games to surrender a return to the Champions League. As such, at the start of the current term, many sports betting platforms online didn’t consider the Gunners as title contenders, as the team sits at +105 against Newcastle United.

The fact that their title challenge lasted as long as it did is something that should be commended. And while the last few weeks have been a disappointment, there is something that Mikel Arteta and his team have achieved for the first time since the days of Arsene Wenger some seven years ago, qualify for the Champions League. Yes indeed, next season will see Arsenal dine at Europe’s most elite dinner table for the first time since 2016.

The Gunners have come close to qualification in recent years. Last year they missed out by just two points while back in 2019, they were just one point away from the promised land and they reached the Europa League final, which would have secured qualification had they won. In 2023, Mikel Arteta has put things right, but how did Arsenal fare in their last three UEFA Champions League campaigns?

2016/17 – Impressive Group Stage Performance Ends With Second Round Drubbing

The last time Arsenal featured in the UEFA Champions League was in the 2016/17 season. Unfortunately for them, however, all of their high points came in the group stages. The Gunners were drawn against French giants Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Bulgarian champions Ludogorets and Swiss side FC Basel.

Many expected Arsene Wenger’s team to struggle to cope with their Parisian rivals however, they impressed everybody as they picked up draws against the French champions both home and away. And courtesy of PSG’s draw on the final matchday with the champions of Bulgaria, The Gunners managed to top their difficult-looking group. Despite their group-stage heroics though, they would meet Bayern Munich once again in the second round.

Courtesy of the previous year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid topping their group ahead of the Bavarians, Arsenal had to face off against the German champions in the second round for the third time in five years. And it would end in tears. 5-1 defeats both home and away saw Arsene Wenger’s men eliminated by an aggregate score of 10-2, their biggest-ever defeat in the competition.

2015/16 – Defeat Against the Reigning Champions

The year before, Arsenal would once again face off against Bayern, this time in the group stages. However, unlike the season to come which saw The Gunners top their group, they would instead have to weather an early storm. They lost their opening two games, firstly away at Dinamo Zagreb, before being stunned 3-2 at home to Olympiacos.

The North London side would burst into life on matchday three when late goals from Olivier Giroud and Mesut Özil secured a 2-0 victory at home to Bayern Munich. They would suffer yet another 5-1 drubbing in the return fixture at the Allianz Arena, but victories at home to the Croatians and away in Greece in the final two group games saw Arsenal progress to the knockout stages as runners-up.

As they were unable to top the group, Wenger knew that a tough tie was ahead of his side, but he couldn’t have anticipated that he would have to contend with the reigning champions, Barcelona. And this was a Blaugrana side at the peak of its powers, with a menacing front three of Messi, Suarez and Neymar. The Gunners fought hard, however, they would eventually succumb to a 5-1 defeat after losing both home and away.

2014/15 – Monaco Stun Shocking Gunners

In 2014/15, Arsenal had the perfect opportunity to secure a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time in five years. In years previous, they had been eliminated by Bayern Munich (twice), Barcelona, and AC Milan. However, after finishing as runners-up to Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, they were handed a favourable draw against French outfit AS Monaco.

This wasn’t the Monaco side of two years later, which featured the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Falcao, Bernardo Silva, and Fabinho. No, this was a team that featured an aging Dimitar Berbatov up top and was more than beatable. However, Berba managed to roll back the years in the first leg at the Emirates as he scored, as did Geoffrey Kondogbia and Yannick Carasco, securing a 3-1 victory in London.

In the second leg in the principality, Arsenal managed to secure a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey. However, the French side would progress to the quarterfinals on away goals, leaving Arsene Wenger and his team to wonder what might have been.

Can we do a bit better now we have Mikel Arteta in charge?