Who could Arsenal face in the Champions League? Possible opponents ahead of league phase draw | OneFootball

Arsenal suffered heartache in their pursuit of a first men’s Champions League title last season and now look to go one step better under Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners reached the semi-finals for just the second time, losing to eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on aggregate - leading to Arteta’s surprise assessment that they had been the best team in the Champions League that year.

But after a summer of big spending, which has seen Arsenal sign Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Martin Zubimendi in a £250m spree, there are more expectations on Arteta’s side this season and there will be no excuses if they fall short of a major honour this season.

Arsenal finished third in the new-look league phase last season, with an impressive six wins from their eight games, and are set to find out there opponents for the upcoming campaign along with the five other English teams in the draw.

Who could Arsenal face in the Champions League draw?

Arsenal are in Pot 2 of the Champions League draw. They will be drawn against two teams from each point but can’t play another English team in the league phase, and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country. So, their possible opponents are as follows:

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.

Pot 1: PSG, Real Madrid, Man City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona

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

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

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

When is the Champions League draw?

The draw will be held in Monaco on Thursday, 28 August and begins at 6pm BST.

Uefa and TNT Sports will both offer a free live stream on their websites and YouTube channels.

How does the league phase draw work?

The league phase has 36 teams with every team handed eight games. The 36 teams are split into four pots of eight teams based on their Uefa coefficient, with the opponents generated by automated software.

The opponents then come from each pot, with two teams selected from each, one home and one away.

Teams cannot play another team from the same country and are not permitted to face more than two teams from one country.

Those finishing inside the top eight go straight into the last 16, then the next 16 teams advance to the play-off stage, with eight of those 16 teams progressing to the last 16.