Arsenal’s Route to 2025–26 Champions League Final: Fates Have Never Been Kinder

Mikel Arteta’s side are theoretically on the easiest side of the draw.

Declan Rice comes alive on a Champions League night under the lights. | Julian Finney-UEFA/UEFA/Getty Images

“We can only focus on the present,” Mikel Arteta insisted when Arsenal were presented with—on paper—the kindest route to the Champions League final any side is likely to earn.

The Gunners have managed to land themselves on the opposite half of the draw to a gaggle of European heavyweights slugging it out among themselves. However, Arteta’s compartmentalization is justified. Just take a look at their supposedly straightforward round of 16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen.

It took a soft, late penalty for Arsenal to salvage a point in Germany before a more composed triumph back in north London. Arteta’s side will have home advantage for every second leg until the final by virtue of lofty league-phase finish but there are few easy fixtures at this stage of the competition.

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Arsenal’s Champions League Quarterfinal Opponents

Sporting CP have their own Luis Suárez. | Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images

Arsenal will have fond memories of their most recent trip to Lisbon. The Gunners thrashed Sporting CP 5–1 in last season’s Champions League league phase, with Gabriel even mocking the mask celebration of the hosts’ striker Viktor Gyökeres, who would awkwardly become his teammate over the summer.

However, this is a very different iteration of Sporting. The side which Arsenal tore to shreds was still reeling from the messy exit of manager Ruben Amorim only a few weeks earlier. João Pereira had been hurriedly thrust into the hot seat and would last just eight matches, one of which was that European reverse at the hands of the rampant Gunners.

Rui Borges took over on Boxing Day 2024 and has cajoled the Portuguese champions back into the form which Amorim inspired, losing just two games on home soil across his 15 months at the helm.

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Arsenal’s Potential Champions League Semifinal Opponents

Barcelona’s biggest stars have been in mixed form. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Should Atlético Madrid replicate their Copa del Rey semifinal heroics and turf Barcelona out of the Champions League over two legs, Diego Simeone may be fearful of a reunion with Arsenal.

After his side were dealt a 4–0 humbling at the Emirates in October, the Argentine coach described the Gunners as “the best team Atlético Madrid have faced this season; they run and run and there’s quality all over the pitch.”

Barcelona certainly have plenty of quality of their own—which they proved in a thrashing of Newcastle United in the last 16. The Catalan giants have a fearsome record against Arsenal, although the two clubs haven’t met for a decade.

Potential Opponent	Head-to-Head Record With Arsenal
Barcelona	P9 W6 D2 L1
Atlético Madrid	P3 W1 D1 L1

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Arsenal’s Potential Champions League Final Opponents

Dominik Szoboszlai could take Liverpool all the way to the final. | Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images

If Arsenal can make it to the Champions League final for only the second time in the club’s history—and their first since 2006—they will be guaranteed a blockbuster clash

Whether it’s the domestic rivalry of Liverpool or the European grandeur of Real Madrid, a chance to dethrone Paris Saint-Germain or a rematch with Bayern Munich, Budapest promises to be the setting of a mouthwatering affair.

Arsenal have a recent history with all four potential foes. The enmity with Liverpool is obvious, while the Gunners knocked Real Madrid out of last season’s Champions League quarterfinals before coming unstuck against PSG in the final four.

Bayern Munich’s first defeat of this season came at the Emirates in the autumn, prompting a bitter response from manager Vincent Kompany: “I don’t think any of us want to be the best team in November.” Perhaps Arsenal and Bayern will get the chance to fight for that status on May 30.

Potential Opponent	Head-to-Head Record With Arsenal
Paris Saint-Germain	P7 W2 D3 L2
Liverpool	P146 W83 D67 L96
Real Madrid	P4 W0 D1 L3
Bayern Munich	P15 W8 D3 L4

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