Arsenal could be handed a rather tricky 2024/25 Champions League fixture schedule due to the new format of the competition that commences from September
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal will be determined to go far in the 2024/25 Champions League following their quarter-final elimination this season. Heading to Bayern Munich on the back of a 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners were unfortunately knocked out following a slender 1-0 defeat in Bavaria.
This campaign’s edition of the competition draws to a conclusion on Saturday evening as Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund go head-to-head for Europe’s top prize at Wembley. It will be all change in the Champions League from next season onwards, with a 36-team league phase replacing the previous group stage that featured 32 teams.
Arsenal and their Champions League rivals will face eight games in total in the league phase and the top eight in the league advance directly to the round of 16. The teams from ninth to 24th will then compete in the knockout round play-offs for a place in the final 16.
In order to establish the fixtures, all 36 teams will be split into four pots of nine based on coefficient rankings. Each team will then be drawn against two other teams from each pot, with one game coming at home and the other away.
This in turn determines each team’s eight league fixtures as they battle it out for a place in the round of 16. So which pot will Arsenal be in for the Champions League league phase draw?
As the pots are based on coefficient rankings, Arsenal will find themselves in pot 2 for the draw in August. Other teams set to feature in pot 2 include: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Atalanta, Benfica and Club Brugge.
Shakhtar Donetsk could very well join them in pot 2 as they will qualify for the league phase rather than having to go through the play-offs courtesy of the Champions League winner rebalancing providing that Real Madrid win the Champions League final on Saturday evening. If it is Borussia Dortmund who prevail in tonight’s showpiece finale in London, Eintracht Frankfurt will qualify for the league phase and Shakhtar remain in the play-offs.
In terms of pot 1, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Barcelona are the nine teams that make up the top pot. Pot 3 and 4 will very much depend on which teams come through qualifying, with seven teams set to qualify through the play-off round in order to make up the 36-team league.
Teams such as Celtic, AS Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona and Brest look set to take their place in pot 4 ahead of the league phase draw on Thursday, August 29.
With all teams drawn against two teams from each pot, Arsenal and their fellow Champions League rivals could be handed an incredibly tough league phase draw. That in turn should make for a very interesting 36-team league with so much at stake heading into the final few games at that stage of the competition.
Qualified teams as things stand
UEFA Europa League winners: Atalanta
England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa
Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid
Germany: Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig
Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus
France: Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Brest
Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord
Portugal: Sporting CP
Belgium: Club Brugge
Scotland: Celtic
