Arsenal route to Champions League final after beating Sporting CP in last-eight | OneFootball

Arsenal will have to beat two European heavyweights in order to win a first-ever Champions League title

Arsenal are through to the Champions League semi-finals after narrowly beating Sporting CP in the quarter-final.

Under the new format, the Gunners’ potential route to this season’s Champions League final has already been mapped out.

Arsenal will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals, meaning a rematch from the League Phase meeting earlier in the season when Viktor Gyokeres scored twice in a 4-0 win for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

This will be the first European knockout stage meeting between the two clubs since 2018 when Atletico beat the Gunners in the Europa League semi-final, thus denying Arsene Wenger a chance to end his reign as manager with a trophy.

As a result of finishing top in the league phase, Arsenal will have the advantage of playing the second leg of their semi-final tie at the Emirates Stadium.

Semi-final bound: Arsenal

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

In fact, the Gunners will have had home advantage throughout the knockout phase thanks to a new rule implemented by UEFA at the start of the campaign.

Bayern Munich will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the other semi-final, with Bayern, arguably, currently the stronger of the two European heavyweights, demonstrated by scoring six goals across two legs against Real Madrid.

Vincent Kompany, who is suspended for the semi-final first leg in Paris - did get the better of PSG and Luis Enrique in the League Phase and will relish the opportunity to eliminate the holders.

That could leave Arsenal taking on the six-time winners - with the likes of Harry Kane, Luis Diaz and Michael Olise in their ranks - in the 2026 Champions League final.