The 2026/27 Champions League campaign is set to be an exciting one for Arsenal fans, with the team returning to Europe's top table for a fourth year in a row. Having reached the final last season, the Gunners are eager to go one better and lift the coveted trophy. With a strong squad and a renewed sense of purpose, the team is ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead.
One of the key changes in the upcoming season is the introduction of the league phase format, which replaced the previous group stage. This new system will see 36 teams compete in a league of eight matches, with each team playing four at home and four away. The top eight sides will automatically qualify for the knockout stage, while the teams finishing in ninth to 24th place will compete in a two-legged play-off to secure their path into the last 16.
The Premier League will be represented by five clubs in the Champions League next season, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Aston Villa securing their spots by finishing in the top five of the division. Spanish teams also saw five teams advance via their La Liga finishes, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and Real Betis making up their representatives.
Italy and Germany will have four teams apiece, with Napoli, Inter Milan, AS Roma, and Como qualifying from Serie A. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Stuttgart qualified from the Bundesliga. There are three sides coming from France, with defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain joined by Lens and Lille. There are two sides from the Netherlands as Eredivisie winners PSV and runners-up Feyenoord both reached the league phase.
Porto and Sporting Lisbon are the Portuguese representation, with Galatasaray from Turkey, Slavia Prague from the Czech Republic, and Shakhtar from Ukraine, all of whom won their domestic leagues and thus punched their tickets months ago, as did Belgium's Club Brugge. Seven other teams won their spots by advancing through the pre-season qualifiers, with the draw for the first and second qualifying rounds taking place on June 16 and June 17, respectively.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the draw is the restriction that teams cannot face fellow Premier League clubs. This means that Arsenal will not play against Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle United, or Tottenham at this stage of the competition. The four pots are determined by UEFA club coefficient, with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain in pot 1, alongside Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.
Pot 2 consists of Borussia Dortmund, AS Roma, Sporting CP, Porto, Club Brugge, Real Betis, PSV Eindhoven, and Premier League sides Aston Villa and Manchester United. Feyenoord, Lille, Napoli, RB Leipzig, Villarreal, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Galatasaray will all be in pot 3, while Como and Lens will be in pot 4. The remaining seven qualifiers are yet to be assigned to either pot 3 or pot 4.
The draw for the Champions League will take place on Thursday, August 27, 2026, where Arsenal will find out the eight teams they will face in the opening stage. The league phase matches will take place on September 8-10, October 13-14, October 20-21, November 3-4, November 24-25, December 8-9, January 19-20, and January 27. The knockout play-offs rounds will be drawn on January 29, 2027, with the two legs taking place on February 16-17 and February 23-24.
The round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final will all be drawn on February 26, 2027, with the matches taking place on March 9-10 and March 16-17 for the round of 16, April 6-7 and April 13-14 for the quarter-finals, April 27-28 and May 4-5 for the semi-finals, and June 5, 2027, at the Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain, for the final.
