The second year running of UEFA’s new format, a league table Arsenal finished third in.
Although I should stress PSG ended up in 15th position and needed a play-off to get to the knockout stages, yet won the whole thing.
36 clubs play eight fixtures, four at home, four away. The top eight automatically go to the last 16.
Ninth to 24th face over two legs to decide the eight teams who also will be in the last 16.
If you finish 24th or lower you are eliminated.
Ranked from easy to hardest, here are our eight fixtures this season in the Champions League…
(BBC and Sky Sports / Arsenal were reporting differently so I have used UEFA for my source for who is home / away)
Kairat Almaty – H
Look away now Celtic fans!
It says a lot about the standard of Scottish football that its Champions not only were knocked out over two legs by the Champions of Kazakhstan, but could not score against them after 210 minutes of football.
The two games were horrible to watch.
One of four teams to be in the Champions League proper for the first time, their home fans will react like it is a cup final when they get to rock up in North London.
In terms of travel, Mikel Arteta will have been relieved that he does not have to do a reverse trip, but in reality he could rotate his squad between Prem fixtures and still win comfortably here.
Slavia Prague – A
The victims of our biggest ever margin of victory in Champions League history.
Some Gooners will be delighted that this is away so they could include a weekend in Prague into their schedule.
Yes, they are the Czech Champions, but Arsenal is a level of quality they do not face most weeks.
Last season in the Europa League table, they finished 30th.
Olympiacos – H
Have faced numerous times over the years, with the Greeks famously knocking Mikel Arteta out in his first European tie.
If this was in Greece it would be a banana skin, but the Champions of Greece do not travel well.
The most successful team in their country’s history and winners of a domestic double last season, a squad who are used to winning.
Either way, why do I sense win, lose or draw we see Mr Marinakis make an appearance.
Club Brugge – A
One of three teams on this list the Gunners have never faced before in a competitive match.
One of the two sides responsible for there being zero Scottish representation in the Champions League this season, both will face the Gunners.
The Belgians qualified by putting nine goals past Rangers over two legs, although I am still not sure if Brugge were great or it is more of a reflection on the SPL?
Are free flowing and goal scoring domestically, but showed last campaign they are not just here to make up the numbers.
Beat the then Europa League holders Atalanta home and away last season to get to the last 16.
Have done well to hang on to Christos Tzolis and Hans Vanaken. Watch out for them on the counter-attack.
Athletic Club – A
Back in the Champions League after an 11-year exit, highlighting the trajectory of the club recently. Their only regret might have been not showing up against Man United knowing their ground was going to host the Europa League Final.
That is why Gooners should be unhappy that this is not at home but in Bilbao.
It is a unique footballing city that only employs Basque players, with their success built on a team spirit and togetherness.
That is why the likes of Nico Williams remains.
Atletico Madrid – H
When it comes to Atletico Madrid, as long as they are coached by Diego Simeone you know what you are up against.
They will be organised, hard to break down, the experts of the dark.
That is why over two legs they remain one of the best in Europe. As a one-off fixture in the League stage it remains to be seen how far Rojiblancos go in changing their playing style. Their manager has been questioned if he is able or even willing to do that, but certainly recent signings suggest otherwise.
At the Emirates though, I am expecting Madrid to go back to what brought them to the dance.
Inter Milan – A
With a few weeks till the end of the season Inter Milan were on course for a Treble, yet ended up with nothing. The size of their Champions League Final defeat saw Simone Inzaghi leave by mutual consent, possibly an overreaction when you think of their classic semi-final against Barcelona.
Club legend Christian Chivu has already been credited as introducing tactics in line with the club’s DNA.
Like at Parma, his ethos is to press high up the pitch and move the ball forward more quickly.
That is compared to the slow build-up play they were criticised for last year.
An ageing squad deserved to go out on their sword and prove it was one season too many, but it should be stressed how close it was to being a special campaign. Physically and mentally they just ran out of legs.
With the age of the squad slowly reducing, yet experience still there to help, there is a slight transition at the San Siro.
Outside of PSG, the Gunners’ only defeat in Europe last season was in Milan. In that fixture we dominated possession, yet lost due to a controversial penalty. Inter only conceded one goal in the CL League table.
It will be a similar kind of game but maybe the home side will show more ambition.
Bayern Munich – H
The highlight here of course will be Harry Kane returning to North London.
Gone are the days when the German giants are going to be scoring five at the Emirates, while we have even matured from facing them over two legs two years ago. A one-off home game in the League stage of course will be less pressure.
99 goals were scored in the Bundesliga last campaign by the Champions, but away from home in Europe they were accused of being naive, not adapting their high press or changing their tactics towards the opposition.
Then you remember they are managed by Vincent Kompany. Not changing his principles at Burnley got him a job at Germany’s biggest club, so he is not going to abandon his ethos now.
A long-term injury to Musiala is a blow, but Olise has stepped up.
In terms of getting over the line, they have lost a lot of experience at the Allianz Arena.
Might not have finished in the transfer market.
Your thoughts appreciated in the comments.
Dan Smith
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Good round up. Thanks for the post.
Lots to look forward to. Success for us (at this stage) means getting to the Round of 16, and I think we can easily get there.
Apart from the top 2 in your list we got quite an easy group compared to the other English teams , should breeze through .
Wish it was the old setup though ,last seasons comp was a massive downgrade on the last 20 odd years ,unfortunately all about money and UFEA just copied what the super league was intended to do .
Times move forward but it does not mean it’s for the better ,should have left it be .
Dan Kit,
I agree with you. But I would like to see it go further and go back to the days when only the champions played in it. And you still had the other two European trophy’s to.
But as you say it’s all about the money. But it’s sad to say, the Champions League is diluted because of it.
Derek, I concur with you about how it used to be and also about the other two competitions. In those days the games were much more exciting imo.
Herr Drier,
No doubt you’ll get some people saying that you shouldn’t wish for how things used to be, and you’ve got to move with the times.
My answer to that is, just because times change, it doesn’t mean some of those changes are for the better. As the current format of four teams being able to qualify for the Champions League. Which makes the name of the cup laughable.
But I can’t do anything about it, but it doesn’t mean I have to either agree with it or even like it for that matter. 🤷♂️👍
Derek, something’s do change for the better, but imo the CL hasn’t. Gone are the days when clubs like Brugge and Steaua Bucharest get to the final.
I dare say you are old enough to remember the Ronseal advert “It does what it says on the tin”. Well that saying definitely doesn’t fit the CL.
We should be able to manage this and get top 8. Definitely on the easier side of the draw. Top 3 can cause trouble and Bilbao away can get tricky. But we have a squad to compete in all competitions now. Expectation surely to easily get through this group stage
Top 8 is the target, simply because we avoid extra games in late winter.
No other side will want to play us, Bayern nor Atletico will fancy one off match on our patch nor inter about hosting us. Except Brugge who are in a good place in 2025, we will have to be up for the trip there, for it wouldn’t be a shock if it turned out tighter on the night.
We know who and tomorrow we find out when.
The actual fixtures are now confirmed.
I love the look of this. Home banker in last leg, in case it’s tight for top 8. Inter away penultimate, in case it’s tight for top 8 we will know how to approach it. Prague before the snow gets in and we need to dig King Wenceslas out the drifts… and everyone who followed his footsteps.
Atheltic Club v Arsenal – September 16, 5.45pm
Arsenal v Olympiacos – October 1, 8pm
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid – October 21, 8pm
Slavia Prague v Arsenal – November 4, 5.45pm
Arsenal v Bayern Munich – November 26, 8pm
Club Brugge v Arsenal – December 10, 8pm
Inter Milan v Arsenal – January 20, 2026, 8pm
Arsenal v Kairat Almaty – January 28, 2026, 8pm
On paper some games look like easy to win,but just ask Amorim how easy it looked like and how difficult it turned out against part time footballers losing 12-11.Ask Arteta how he managed to lose to WHU or draw to Fulham or BHA.
Each game has to be approached cautiously without any given right to win before the completion of the 90 minutes
There’s more than a subtle difference between West Ham, Fulham and Brighton compared to Grimsby. However, I agree with your last paragraph as we’ve seen how easy it is to underestimate the opposition
SueP,
I’m just relieved that Grimsby isn’t in our part of the draw. 😂 Good morning by the way. 👍
They should go back to having only the champions of each country play in the champions league, then 2nd to 4th play in the europa league with 5th and FA cup winner playing in the conference league, no europe for league cup winner. Makes all 3 competitions interesting to watch.
Unfortunately, although more interesting, it’s not as profitable, Dave. Most football fans feel exactly the same way as you. Including me. Greedy people always get their way 🙄 😒
I couldn’t disagree more. How do you know that most football fans feel this way?
These kinds of comments demonstrate an archaic mindset that wants to take everyone back decades. Who really wants to see matches between perhaps 4 or 5 top teams and 20+ others mainly there to make up the numbers? How many are really looking forward to e.g. Liverpool vs Slavan Bratislava in the QF of the CL?
👍
Nothing to do with greediness IMO. The fact it’s competitive makes it all interesting compared to what it used to be like. Increase in revenue was only a result of it’s competitiveness. What I think should change is the name of the competition.
Did somebody mention Amorim? Was that just for comedy value?
If Amorim has lost Man Utd dressing room, and unliked by his players maybe we ought to think Gyökeres all along very quietly had no intention to ever be managed by him again?
If Eddie Howe was offered the Man Utd job vacancy in next few days, would he take it?
David,
You make me laugh. While you’re entitled to your opinion, and it appears that you like the new format. Your quote regarding “an archaic mindset that wants to take everyone back decades”, is laughable.
You may want to move with the time’s, a phrase that also makes me laugh to be honest. Just because we’re in the year 2025, doesn’t mean that some of the old ways were not better.
How anyone can justify a competition being called the Champions League, and then you see 4 teams form most country’s leagues also qualifying for it is just a joke.
The words Champions League should be removed, as it’s clearly false advertising isn’t it. Again just because we’re in the year 2025, doesn’t mean that some of the old ways are still not relevant today.
We all know the reason the Champions League exists in it’s current format. So that the fat cats can get their piece of the pie, plain and simple.
Champions League!, Don’t make me laugh. 🤦♂️🙄🤷♂️
The name should change, I agree. But the competition is better of In it’s current state compared to what it used to be like when only champions of each European leagues participate. So yeah, we all don’t agree on the old system being brought back. It’s won’t be a level playing field at all.
So what youre saying is that if it were up to you Arsenal would have played it last champions league match in 2004 and that the epic final between Liverpool and AC milan wouldn’t have happened or the other legendary final matches that the ucl had blessed us with wouldn’t have happened all because of your sentimental attachment to the past. Lols . 😀 😀
I also notice you didn’t respond to him asking you if you would prefer watching a Liverpool vs slavan bratislava, or maybe a mancity vs qarabag week in week out every year. Thank goodness you are not among the guys making decisions at UEFA HQ.
Emperor Augustus,
I take your point regards the Liverpool game against AC Milan. But for me, whoever gets to the final would deserve to be there.
Whether it would be a classic is another story. But the Champions League was and should still be for the Champions only. What part of that sentence are you struggling with. 🙄🤷♂️
The funny thing is the guys at Uefa HQ did decide to change the name from champions league to Super league, how did that turn out, fans were up in arms in opposition to the idea and i believe you were one of them Derek.
Money has always been one of the chief motivator of progress and forward movement and as long as the pursuit of it is done morally, legally and ethically, it not only improves the lives of people but also leads to the progression of society. Football today is a global phenomenon and multi billion dollar business there was no way the topmost footballing event (The UCL) would remain stagnated in the realm of just only league winners of Europe clubs, besides not all winners are worthy winners and some second / third placed teams were usually unlucky or robbed in some matches, had injury crisis or had a bad patch at certain periods in thier campaign.
Not quite
The Super League required zero relegation or promotion
It was a closed shop
The likes of Arsenal could finish bottom of the table and 300 million just for competing
Which is not a bad thing if you ask me. Arsenal would do very nicely with 300 million.
Why do you make it sound like if its a bad thing?
EA, the Super League had nothing to do with UEFA, it was a breakaway by a few clubs. If it had gone ahead any player playing in that competition would’ve been banned from playing international football for their country.
Derek, the only problem I have had with all iterations of the Champions League in general is that it’s comprised of the teams which excelled in the prior season in one way or the other as opposed to being the current most worthy teams.
Teams do not perform the same from year to year and if the tournament were held during or even at the end of the season(s) within which the teams were deemed to have qualified, the results would likely be very different.
Not sure if there is a good solution but to me it sure does make the tournament less relevant to anything but financial matters.
Vamos,
That’s the whole idea, it should only be Champions that play in it.
Dress it up all you want, there’s only one reason and one reason alone. £££££££££££££££££££ SIMPLES!.
I liked it when the league champions represented England as a whole, whether it was Arsenal, Forest or Utd.
However, I can’t deny I’m thrilled to bits that top4 and a league gives plenty of opportunities to get further than going out in the first round against PSG or BM like it would in the olden days to which we both belong. I even like the new format which enables all the teams to play against more teams
Remember those years where Lyon won I think 20 consecutive league titles or that bayern that won 10 in a roll or Juve even man united. The implication of it would mean the best France could send to represent them in the ucl was lyon for 20yrs. Same with bayern and other minor leagues like Riga fc in Latvia or valur in Faroe islands. So we would have lyon play bayern every year or Juve play man u, that type of stuff, repetition year in year out, the ucl would have been a boring spectacle and die away slowly and painfully.