Who can Arsenal face in Champions League last-16 knockout stage? | OneFootball

Gunners through to last 16 and guaranteed a top two finish with a game to spare

Arsenal are safely through to the last-16 of the Champions League.

The Gunners were guaranteed a top-eight finish before a ball had been kicked ahead of their penultimate league phase fixture against Inter Milan, thanks to Manchester City’s shock defeat to Bodo/Glimt.

Still, Mikel Arteta’s side beat the Serie A leaders 3-1 at the San Siro to confirm a top two finish, meaning they are assured of hosting the second legs in their knockout matches.

A brace from Gabriel Jesus and a second half strike from Viktor Gyokeres made it seven straight wins for the Gunners, continuing a very impressive European campaign to date.

While wins over the likes of Olympiacos, Slavia Prague and Club Brugge were expected, Arsenal have certainly caught the eye with statement performances against Inter, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

With a dead-rubber against Kairat to follow next Wednesday, the north London outfit require a point to seal top spot in the league phase, though that will not have any impact on the potential teams they can face in the knockout phase.

Who can Arsenal face in Champions League last-16?

Arsenal’s progression straight through to the last-16 means they will not face a fixture congestion on February.

The last-16 draw will take place on Friday, February 27. The first leg of those ties will be played on either March 10 or March 11, with the return fixtures a week later.

As a result of finishing first or second in the league phase, Arsenal will either face the winners of the knockout phase play-off between the 15th and 16th seeds, or the 17th and 18th seeds.

Currently, those four teams are Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray and Qarabag. Of course, with one more round of fixture to go, the picture could change drastically.

All will be confirmed after the knockout phase play-off draw on Friday, January 31.