Who Arsenal Could Face in the 2025–26 Champions League Round of 16

The Gunners are poised for another deep Champions League run this season.

Arsenal have landed top spot in the league phase table | Tommaso Fimiano/SOPA Images/LightRocker/Getty Images

Arsenal guaranteed their spot in the Champions League round of 16 with a perfect record in the league phase, and are well-placed for another deep run in the competition in search of a maiden European title and one quarter of a Quadruple this season.

They’ll now benefit from taking on a supposedly middling opponent in the last 16, and will play the second legs of all knockout ties on home soil—a perk the Gunners didn’t earn last season, despite finishing as high as third in the opening phase of the competition then.

Arsenal cannot be accused of treading an easy path on their way to Champions League perfection. Mikel Arteta’s side have so far beaten Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter.

They earned February off, but with the knockout playoffs concluding this week and therefore presenting possible round of 16 opponents, here are the options for Arsenal to face.

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Arsenal’s Potential Champions League Round of 16 Opponents

Atalanta turned things round in spectacular fashion. | MB Media/Getty Images

As Arsenal finished first, it will be in the round of 16 one of the teams that finished 15th, 16th, 17th or 18th in the league phase table.

Borussia Dortmund were well placed to advance to the last 16 at the expense of Atalanta, courtesy of a 2–0 aggregate lead from the first leg at home. However, a collapse from the German team in Italy in leg two turned the tie on its head. Atalanta won 4–1 on the night to claim a 4–3 triumph overall.

Bayer Leverkusen is the other option, eliminating Olympiacos in the knockout playoffs in a more routine 2–0 aggregate scoreline that was fully decided in the first leg.

• Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta

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When Is the Champions League Round of 16?

There has been no Champions League football for Arteta’s Arsenal in February, allowing the Spaniard to focus all his energy on increasingly concerning domestic matters during that time.

The first legs of the round of 16 have been scheduled for March 10/11, while the second legs will be played the following week, on March 17/18.

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