Arsenal will shortly discover their Champions League group stage opponents as the much-anticipated draw takes place from 5pm on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco
A big few days for Arsenal awaits. Not only is transfer deadline day fast approaching and a clash against Manchester United on the horizon, but Mikel Arteta’s side will also discover their fate in the Champions League.
Back in the competition after a six-season absence and following a second-placed Premier League finish last term, the draw for the group phase takes place on Thursday and over the next 24 hours or so, things will become a lot clearer with the final qualifiers taking place.
So with that said, which teams have already qualified for the Champions League? Who are the six other teams that are on course to qualify? What could Arsenal’s group look like when the draw is made later in the week? Well, football.london answers all those questions and more.
Likely opponents
Below is how things stand going into the second leg of the Champions League play-off round as Arsenal will be joined in the competition by Rangers if they overcome PSV Eindhoven at this stage for the second year in a row, whilst Lucas Torreira’s Galatasaray holding a slender advantage over Molde.
Young Boys vs Maccabi Haifa (0-0)
Galatasaray vs Molde (3-2)
Panathinaikos vs Braga (1-2)
AEK Athens vs Royal Antwerp (0-1)
Copenhagen vs Raków Czestochowa (1-0)
PSV Eindhoven vs Rangers (2-2)
Qualified teams
Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, Napoli, Lazio, Inter, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Union Berlin, Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Benfica, Porto, Feyenoord, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade and Celtic are the 26 qualified teams so far.
Although clubs cannot be drawn against teams from the same association, which means, for example, Arsenal will avoid Man United in the group stage.
Confirmed pots
Pot 1 and Pot 2 have been finalised with Arsenal and Man United in the latter. The remaining pots will be completed once the Champions League play-off round ties are over but AC Milan are confirmed to be in Pot 3 which means they can be paired with the Gunners in the group stage.
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord
Pot 2:Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Porto, RB Leipzig
Pot 3: AC Milan, Lazio, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade
Pot 4: Newcastle United, Lens, Union Berlin
To be assigned a pot: Real Sociedad, Celtic
Arsenal Champions League draw: Confirmed pots, likely opponents rule changes and new format
Arsenal will shortly discover their Champions League group stage opponents as the much-anticipated draw takes place from 5pm on Thursday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco
SHARE
ByTashan Deniran-AlleyneArsenal Writer
17:00, 29 AUG 2023
Bookmark
How things stand ahead of the UEFA Champions League Playoff second leg matches as Arsenal await in the group stage. (Image: Kemal Delikmen/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
How things stand ahead of the UEFA Champions League Playoff second leg matches as Arsenal await in the group stage. (Image: Kemal Delikmen/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A big few days for Arsenal awaits. Not only is transfer deadline day fast approaching and a clash against Manchester United on the horizon, but Mikel Arteta’s side will also discover their fate in the Champions League.
Back in the competition after a six-season absence and following a second-placed Premier League finish last term, the draw for the group phase takes place on Thursday and over the next 24 hours or so, things will become a lot clearer with the final qualifiers taking place.
So with that said, which teams have already qualified for the Champions League? Who are the six other teams that are on course to qualify? What could Arsenal’s group look like when the draw is made later in the week? Well, football.london answers all those questions and more.
Likely opponents
Below is how things stand going into the second leg of the Champions League play-off round as Arsenal will be joined in the competition by Rangers if they overcome PSV Eindhoven at this stage for the second year in a row, whilst Lucas Torreira’s Galatasaray holding a slender advantage over Molde.
Young Boys vs Maccabi Haifa (0-0)
Galatasaray vs Molde (3-2)
Panathinaikos vs Braga (1-2)
AEK Athens vs Royal Antwerp (0-1)
Copenhagen vs Raków Czestochowa (1-0)
PSV Eindhoven vs Rangers (2-2)
READ MORE: Kylian Mbappe return and Harry Kane record put Arsenal on notice ahead of Champions League draw
Qualified teams
Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, Napoli, Lazio, Inter, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Union Berlin, Paris Saint-Germain, Lens, Benfica, Porto, Feyenoord, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade and Celtic are the 26 qualified teams so far.
Although clubs cannot be drawn against teams from the same association, which means, for example, Arsenal will avoid Man United in the group stage.
Confirmed pots
Pot 1 and Pot 2 have been finalised with Arsenal and Man United in the latter. The remaining pots will be completed once the Champions League play-off round ties are over but AC Milan are confirmed to be in Pot 3 which means they can be paired with the Gunners in the group stage.
Pot 1: Manchester City, Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Feyenoord
Pot 2:Arsenal, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Porto, RB Leipzig
Pot 3: AC Milan, Lazio, Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, Red Star Belgrade
Pot 4: Newcastle United, Lens, Union Berlin
To be assigned a pot: Real Sociedad, Celtic
Rule changes
Arsenal’s last Champions League fixture was in March 2017 and in truth, not a great deal has changed since. Except for the away goals rule that has been abolished, the format is very much the same. Although, this season is the last in its current version as UEFA have already announced plans for the 2024/25 season where there will be a single league made up of all 36 competing clubs.
This will result in a departure from the current format of a 32-team group stage and most importantly, as the statement explained: “This will give four more sides the opportunity to compete against the best clubs in Europe.”
Unlike in the Europa League last season where Arsenal received a bye as a result of topping their group, the top two teams in all Champions League groups automatically qualify for the round of 16 stage and therefore Arteta’s side won’t have to wait until March of next year to resume their European journey should they advance
Finally, Champions League prize money is a lot more lucrative than the Europa League. If last season is anything to go by then the Gunners will bank £13.4million just by taking part in the group phase of the former which is a significant increase on the £3.1m they received for reaching the group stage of the latter.
About The Author
