Who can Arsenal face in Champions League draw today? Dream and nightmare scenario revealed | OneFootball

Gunners enjoyed an impressive league campaign in the competition’s new format last season

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Arsenal will learn their opponents in the league phase of the Champions League later today.

The previous group stage of eight groups consisting of four teams each was ditched in favour of a new league format and the north London outfit finished third en route to reaching the semi-final.

Once again, all 36 teams will be separated into four pots and two will be drawn from each. They will face eight different opponents, playing four matches at home and four away.

Arsenal are in Pot 2 for the draw, meaning they could face the likes of holders Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid - whom they beat comfortably in the quarter-final stage last season - from Pot 1.

The draw takes place today, Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 5pm BST and much of it will be automated due to the sheer number of fixtures to be organised.

Play-off ties on Tuesday and Wednesday decided the remaining qualifiers and completed the subsequent pots as Mikel Arteta waits to discover who will be heading to the Emirates Stadium as he looks to take the team one step further than last season.

Which pot are Arsenal in for the Champions League draw?

Arsenal have been placed in Pot 2, as their current coefficient has them sat 15th in UEFA’s rankings for European teams.

Who can Arsenal face in the Champions League draw?

The ceremony will produce eight opponents for every team, two from each pot. That means Arsenal will play two of the top-ranked clubs.

They cannot play a team from their own country (Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle or Manchester City) at this stage and can only play a maximum of two teams from a different association.

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt, Club Brugge

Pot 3: PSV, Ajax, Napoli, Sporting, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Marseille

Pot 4: Copenhagen, Monaco, Galatasaray, Union Saint-Gilloise, Qarabag, Athletic Club, Pafos, Kairat

Dream scenario for Arsenal

Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Villarreal, Frankfurt, PSV, Slavia Prague, USG, Pafos.

Nightmare scenario for Arsenal

PSG, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Napoli, Marseille, Galatasaray, Kairat.

Champions League group-stage matchdays

The exact make-up of each week in terms of kick-off times and match dates will be provided by UEFA.

Matchday 1: September 16-17, 2025

Matchday 2: September 30-October 1, 2025

Matchday 3: October 21-22, 2025

Matchday 4: November 4-5, 2025

Matchday 5: November 25-26, 2025

Matchday 6: December 9-10, 2025

Matchday 7: January 20-21, 2026

Matchday 8: January 28, 2026