Arsenal fans are eagerly awaiting their return to the Champions League in the 2023/24 season, with Mikel Arteta’s side on an upward curve over the past year.
Despite the frustration of losing to protect champions Manchester City in the Premier League title race, Arteta’s men sealed their position and returned to the Champions League for the first time since 2017.
Arteta has invested heavily in the transfer market, bolstering his squad to meet the demands of Champions League football, and the organisational stages will be a check for his next team.
Sporting News takes a look at the conflicting parties at the organisational level at Arsenal as they try to make up for lost time at Europe’s top domestic football level.
MORE: Teams for the 2023/24 Champions League
The 2023/24 Champions League organisers’ draw didn’t bring too many nasty surprises for Arteta, with the main topic of conversation in the Premier League centred on Newcastle’s tricky comeback.
The Magpies’ fourth-place finish in the Premier League secured their return to the festival for the first time in two decades, with Eddie Howe’s side placed in Group F with Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan.
Manchester City earned a favorable draw in Group G, but Manchester United will face Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich in Group A.
Arsenal landed in Group B, facing Europa League champions Sevilla, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven and Dutch finalists PSV Eindhoven and Ligue 1 Lens.
What do you think, Gooners pic. twitter. com/e9iWGS2X6D ?
Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side secured a place in the Champions League despite completing the top four of La Liga away from home last season.
However, a seventh UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa Conference League win in the final weeks of 2022/23 secured a Champions League position this season, as a Pot 1 side.
The Spanish giants are the favourites in Group B, and Arsenal’s exile from the Champions League beats them in Pot 2.
Arsenal will see Sevilla as their direct rival for first place in the organization despite the fact that the Spanish side have a wealth of experience in the Europa League.
Their only previous meetings came in the 2007/08 Champions League organising phase, with a home win while former Gunners star Eduardo scored home and away.
PSV Eindhoven caused turmoil at Arsenal when the two teams met in the Europa League stage last season.
Granit Xhaka’s late goal sealed Arteta’s 1-0 home win, but a 2-0 defeat in Eindhoven overturned Arsenal’s bid for the most sensible spot in the group.
After all, Arteta’s men have outplayed their Dutch sides in the race for the most sensitive spots, but he will be wary of their threat, especially now that the Eredivisie side will retain key player Ibrahim Sangaré over the summer.
Arsenal have won just once away from home against PSV, in 4 away games, with only one win in the last five in total.
Arsenal will have a tough time against French club Lens with a record run of four matches unbeaten against Ligue 1 in European competition.
Lens caused an upset in French football last season, completing second place behind Paris Saint-Germain in the title race, but they lack experience on the big stage, and Arteta will have to relentlessly oppose them if Arsenal are to progress.
0 – Of the 32 groups qualified for the UEFA Champions League this season, Lens are the team without a player who has already appeared in the competition. Recruits. #UCLdraw pic. twitter. com/3B5HFfTTSO
Below is Arsenal’s shown match schedule for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League stages:
Below is the most recent Group B standings:
Arsenal have enjoyed incredible consistency as Champions League qualifiers during the Arsene Wenger era with 19 consecutive seasons in the Champions League under the Frenchman from 1998 to 2017.
In Wenger’s last season in north London, the club reached the Europa League, and his replacement Unai Emery featured in two seasons in the lower competition, followed by two for Arteta.
Wenger’s Arsenal lost to Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League semi-finals, their recent appearance in the tournament, following a final defeat to Barcelona in 2006.
The draw for the 16-match 2022/23 Champions League will take place on December 18, 2023.
The draw for the remaining rounds (quarter-finals and semi-finals) of the 2023/24 Champions League knockout stage will take place on 15 March 2024.
United Kingdom: Matches are streamed on TNT Sports and TNT Sports and app platforms, with the addition of Discovery.
United States: Matches are available to stream on Paramount (English) and ViX (Spanish) for subscribers, and when matches are televised on CBS or Univision channels, they are also broadcast on Fubo.
Canada: All Champions League matches are broadcast on DAZN.
Australia: All UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League matches are broadcast on Stan Sport, ad-free and on-demand.