Arsenal hosted Paris Saint-Germain in their first home clash of the Champions League, and now sit eighth in the league stage – but how do their next fixtures compare to the other favourites?
Arsenal eased past Paris Saint-Germain to pick up their first win of the Champion League season with goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka the difference on the night.
The Gunners hosted PSG in their first home clash of the new-look league stage of the competition following a draw against Atalanta in their opening game of the first stage. David Raya was the hero of that night, saving a penalty before following up with an incredible stop from the rebound to help earn a point.
After the game against the French champions, Mikel Arteta’s side are now eighth in the table ahead of another round of fixtures on Wednesday. And while attention will turn to the weekend’s league fixture against Southampton before the international break, the Gunners will still have half an eye on their upcoming fixtures in Europe’s top competition.
Shakhtar Donetsk, home – October 22nd
The Ukrainian side had to stay strong to earn a goalless draw in their opening clash of the Champions League away at Bologna, with the Italian side on top for long stretches of the game. And they face another tough task on Wednesday evening, hosting Atalanta in Gelsenkirchen.
The Gunners will be hopeful of securing a big home win after returning from the international break with a game away to Bournemouth. Arteta may well hope for an early lead so he can rest a couple of players before the huge clash against Arne Slot’s Liverpool the weekend after.
Inter Milan, away – November 6th
Undoubtedly the glamour tie of the league stage for the Gunners, they travel to face Inter at the world-famous San Siro – perhaps the last chance for Arsenal fans to see their team in the old stadium with Inter and AC Milan looking to build a new stadium over the coming years.
Inter began the league stage with a creditable 0-0 draw away to Man City before their home clash against Crvena zvezda, in which they ran out comfortable winners.
Simone Inzaghi’s team have started Serie A fairly well, sitting two points behind leaders Napoli after three wins, two draws and a loss from their opening six games – though a late derby loss to rivals Milan will be a sore spot.
Sporting CP, away, November 26th
There were rumours Ruben Amorim would be leaving Sporting this summer with Chelsea interested after Mauricio Pochettino’s departure. And you can certainly see why. The Portuguese side sit top of their league with seven wins from seven games, as well as a home victory over Lille to kick off their Champions League campaign.
They faced a tough challenge in the second match with a trip to take on a PSV side with an identical record in the Eredivisie, though an opening defeat to Juventus soured their start. The Portuguese side came from behind to earn a point that keeps them level on points with Arsenal heading into the next round of fixtures.
It’s certainly an interesting next few games for the Gunners, but how do they stack up against the favourites to win the competition? We take a look below at the matches up until gameweek 5.
Man City
Sparta Praha (h), October 23rd
Sporting (a), November 5th
Feyenoord (h), November 26th
Real Madrid
Lille (a), October 2nd
Borussia Dortmund (h), October 22nd
Milan (h), November 5th
Liverpool (a), November 27th
Bayern Munich
Aston Villa (a), October 2nd
Barcelona (a), October 23rd
Benfica (h), November 6th
PSG (h), November 26th
Liverpool
Bologna (h), October 2nd
RB Leipzig (a), October 23rd
Bayer Leverkusen (h), November 5th
Real Madrid (h), November 27th
Barcelona
Bayern Munich (a), October 23rd
Crvena zvezda (a), November 6th
Brest (h), November 26th