Arsenal's Premier League schedule is now in place for the 2025/26 season. Wednesday morning saw the release of next campaign's fixtures and Mikel Arteta's side will start with an away game against Manchester United.
Leeds United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United follow in what is a very tricky opening to a big year for the football club. Now that Arsenal know when exactly they will be playing their fellow 19 Premier League teams home and away between August and May, many Gunners fans are counting down the days until they discover their Champions League schedule.
Unfortunately, supporters will have to wait quite some time for the league phase draw as it does not take place until the end of August. Thursday, August 28 is the date Arsenal will discover their eight opponents in the league phase, with confirmation of date and times for the games likely to follow a day or two later.
Arsenal did make the final four of last season's Champions League but were unfortunately eliminated in the semi-finals after losing over two legs to eventual winners PSG. Arteta and Arsenal will be hoping to go one better this time around and secure a place in the final at Puskas Arena in Budapest on Saturday, May 30.
As we are now a few weeks on since the league season came to a close for the vast majority of European leagues, we know 29 of the 36 teams who have already qualified for the 2025/26 edition of the Champions League. The pots for August's draw are starting to take shape and six potential Pot 1 opponents are already clear to see as Arsenal cannot come up against fellow Premier League teams Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea.
The final seven Champions League places will be determined by who progresses through qualifying and the crucial play-off round in late August. So, now that Arsenal have their Premier League schedule in hand, we have decided to take a look at the 2025/26 Champions League calendar, pots for the league phase draw, their potential opponents and all the key date fans need to know. You can find all that below:
Teams already qualified and likely pots
Pot 1: Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, PSG, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona.
Pot 2: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Villarreal, Juventus, Eintracht Frankfurt.
Pot 2/3: Tottenham, PSV.
Pot 3: Ajax, Napoli, Sporting CP, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague, Marseille.
Pot 4: AS Monaco, Galatasaray, Union SG, Athletic Club. Newcastle United.
Champions League 2025/26 schedule
League phase
Matchday 1: 16-18 September
Matchday 2: 30 September-1 October
Matchday 3: 21-22 October
Matchday 4: 4-5 November
Matchday 5: 25-26 November
Matchday 6: 9-10 December
Matchday 7: 20-21 January
Matchday 8: 28 January
Knockout phase play-offs
First leg: 17-18 February
Second leg: 24-25 February
Round of 16
First leg: 10-11 March
Second leg: 17-18 March
Quarter-finals
First leg: 7-8 April
Second leg: 14-15 April
Semi-finals
First leg: 28-29 April
Second leg: 5-6 May
Final
Saturday, May 30, 2026 at Puskas Arena, Budapest.
Champions League draw dates
League phase: 28 August
Knockout phase play-offs: 30 January
Round of 16/quarter-finals/semi-finals/final: 27 February