Arsenal route to Champions League final after beating Bayer Leverkusen in last-16 | OneFootball

Arsenal will have to beat two more European heavyweights if they overcome Sporting CP

Arsenal are safely through to the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Bayer Leverkusen in the last-16.

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

Trailing 3-0 from the first leg, the Portuguese side levelled the aggregate score with 12 minutes of normal time remaining before scoring twice in extra-time to set up a meeting with the Gunners at the beginning of April.

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

A homecoming awaits Viktor Gyokeres in the Champions League quarter-finals

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

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

Things then become very tricky in a potential semi-final Arsenal could come up against Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in what would be a major test of their European credentials.

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool are among those on the other side of the draw, with Bayern, arguably, currently the strongest of those sides.

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.

Quarter-finals: Sporting CP

Semi-finals: Barcelona