BREAKING: Arsenal round of 16 fixtures confirmed after yesterday Champions league results – As Arteta side set to face stronger team that could eliminate them from the round of 16 stage
BREAKING: Arsenal round of 16 fixtures confirmed after yesterday Champions league results – As Arteta side set to face stronger team that could eliminate them from the round of 16 stage
It’s all change in UEFA’s club competitions this season, and a second consecutive second-place finish in the Premier League means Arsenal will once again be competing at Europe’s top table.
The Gunners eased their way back into the Champions League last season following a six-year absence. Mikel Arteta’s team didn’t have it all their own way in a Europa League-level group but nonetheless topped it with relative ease, before enduring a proper slog against Porto in the round of 16.
Arsenal progressed via penalties against the wily Portuguese outfit, but their continental journey came to a close in the last eight as Bayern Munich edged a tight tie ultimately decided by a Joshua Kimmich header in Bavaria.
Last season’s experience should serve this Gunners side well moving forward, although a new format will throw a spanner into the works. The traditional group stage is no more, with a ‘league phase’ being introduced as part of UEFA’s novel ‘Swiss model’ format which means more matches, potentially more jeopardy, but ultimately more money for those in power.
We’ve already learned Arsenal’s eight – yes, eight – different opponents for the league phase with UEFA confirming the schedules for every club in the draw’s aftermath. Arteta’s going to have to do some serious squad juggling to appease the bodies of his players over the next few months. The league phase doesn’t end in December, but the back-end of January!
Arsenal’s 2024/25 Champions League fixtures & results
Arsenal were drawn against two teams from each of the four pots, playing one of those teams at the Emirates, and one away.
The Gunners’ campaign began away at Europa League winners Atalanta on 19 September where a superb David Raya performance ensured Arteta’s men escaped Bergamo with a stalemate. They didn’t have to wait too long for their first victory of the league phase, though, as the Gunners eased past Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 at the Emirates on Matchday 2.
It’s fair to say that the 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk won’t live long in the memory, but that victory thrust Arsenal into the top eight ahead of a tough run of games which kicks off with a trip to the iconic San Siro as we face Scudetto holders Inter
The club has had some wonderful nights in Milan, and 6 November hands this group of players the chance to add their names to Gunners’ European folklore.
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Arsenal’s two toughest tests on paper are out of the way by the midway point, but a trip to Sporting CP before hosting Monaco represent another pair of tricky challenges on 26 November and 11 December respectively.
Given the difficulty of their opening six fixtures, Arsenal may well still be in need of points entering the final two matchdays. Fortunately, the club takes on play-off qualifiers Dinamo Zagreb at home and Pot 4 Girona in the intimate Estadi Montilivi to close out the league phase.
