Arsenal will know their Champions League opponents on August 31 when the group stage draw takes place.
Returning to Europe’s top competition for the first time since the 2016/2017 season, coach Mikel Arteta’s key goal will certainly be to ensure the Gunners qualify for the knockout round. However, that won’t be easy considering the teams they are likely to face in the group stage.
With a second-place finish in the Premier League and some luck in the ranking coefficients, Arsenal are seeded second. This means they could be in the group with Sevilla, Barcelona, Napoli, Bayern Munich, and Paris. Saint-Germain, Benfica or Feyenoord from group 1.
Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Bull Salzburg, AC Milan, Lazio, and Red Star Belgrade are picks from Group 3, Real Sociedad and Celtic are likely to enter this group after the play-offs, while Group 4 currently has Union Berlin and Lens are the 2 teams that the Gunners can face.
Best Scenario: Feyenoord, Arsenal, Rangers, Antwerp
There’s always been an argument that easy games in the Champions League group stage simply don’t exist. Still, it’s better to meet underrated opponents, Feyenoord and Benfica are probably the two teams Arsenal want to pair more than anyone from the No. 1 seed group. Feyenoord is having a bad start to the season. Imagine, 0-0 at home against Fortuna Sittard and only 1 point against Sparta Rotterdam.
In Group 3, if Rangers overcome PSV Eindhoven in the playoffs, then they could be the dream choice of many Arsenal fans, especially since the Scottish giants do not have a good record in C1. Finally, the winners of the play-off between Antwerp and AEK Athens could be the ideal opponents for Arsenal from Group 4.
Worst scenario: Bayern Munich, Arsenal, AC Milan, Galatasaray
The last time Arsenal played a Champions League match, they lost 1-5 at home to Bayern Munich. It is the second leg of the round of 16 with the final score of 10-2 in favor of the defending champions Germany and that will probably be the team in group 1 that the Gunners want to avoid.
Also to mention the Harry Kane factor. The England captain is Bayern’s new No 9 after arriving here from Tottenham Hotspur for more than £86m. Kane has a penchant for scoring against Arsenal – 14 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions.
For group 3, all teams will want to avoid AC Milan. The Rossoneri reached the semi-finals last season and despite losing Sandro Tonali to Newcastle United this summer, they have retained Rafael Leao, Mike Maignan, and Olivier Giroud, and strengthened their squad by signing with Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Yunus Musah, and Samuel Chukwueze.
Group 4 will be fully determined after the play-off round, Union Berlin and Lens are the only teams that already have slots. If Galatasaray overcomes Molde they will probably be the ones to avoid as they will be a tough opponent to play with the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Mauro Icardi, Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens, and Lucas Torreira.