**It's been 20 years since we last reached our first UEFA Champions League final - a run that saw us set a defensive record that still stands today and continues to inspire our current crop of defensive stars.**
Our 2006 vintage kept a remarkable 10 clean sheets in a row, inspiring us to knock out Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal to reach the final in Paris.
As that record still sits at the top of the pile in UCL history, our 2025/26 backline has been showcasing its shutout skills this season and that could be a key factor in our bid to reach Budapest.
HOW WE MADE HISTORY
-------------------
When Markus Rosenberg netted in the 71st minute on September 27, 2005, in our 2-1 win against Ajax, few would have predicted the next goal we'd concede would be 232 days later, in the Champions League final.
The run kicked off with four straight clean sheets against Sparta Prague, FC Thun and Ajax to close out the group stage in top spot - setting up a date with Real Madrid in the round of 16.
We produced a fine defensive display across both legs, with Thierry Henry's incredible solo goal sending us through to face Juventus in the last eight.
Cesc Fabregas and Henry netted in a 2-0 win in the first leg before another brave display in Turin made it eight in a row.
Those two clean sheets helped us break the consecutive clean-sheet record, which we then extended with a 1-0 home win at Highbury against Spanish outfit Villarreal.
We needed Jens Lehmann's heroics in the reverse fixture as he saved Juan Riquelme's penalty to preserve our 1-0 aggregate lead and reach the final and make it 10 shutouts in a row.
Since that monumental run, only Manchester City have come close to matching it, with seven straight clean sheets in 2020/21.
Clean sheet run
**Team**
**Streak**
**Season**
Arsenal
10
2005/06
Manchester City
7
2020/21
Milan
7
2004/05
Ajax
6
1995/96
Chelsea
6
2007/08
Juventus
6
2016/17
Panathinaikos
6
1995/96
INSPIRED BY THE CLASS OF '06
----------------------------
Fast forward two decades and our defensive unit has been putting up impressive numbers that can take inspiration from our 2006 side.
We kicked off the league phase with four shutouts against Athletic Club, Olympiacos, Slavia Prague and our semi-final opponents, Atlético de Madrid.
A 3-0 win over Club Brugge was our final clean sheet of a perfect league phase, and since entering the knockouts, we have conceded just one goal in four matches.
That means we're on eight clean sheets in 2025/26, just two off our own record and the tournament's record of 10, which is also held by Real Madrid's 2015/16 side.
Most clean sheets in a UCL season
**Team**
**Season**
**Clean Sheets**
Arsenal
2005/2006
10
Real Madrid
2015/2016
10
Chelsea
2020/2021
9
Juventus
2016/2017
9
Milan
2004/2005
9
Valencia
2000/2001
9
Arsenal
2025/2026
8
With just five goals conceded in the competition so far, we also rank highly for the fewest goals conceded by teams that have reached the semi-finals or further.
Fewest goals conceded in a UCL season
**Team**
**Season**
**Games**
**Goals conceded**
**Stage reached**
Milan
1993/1994
8
2
Final
Milan
1992/1993
7
2
Final
Ajax
1995/1996
11
3
Final
Arsenal
2005/2006
13
4
Final
Chelsea
2020/2021
13
4
Final
Ajax
1994/1995
11
4
Final
Marseille
1992/1993
7
4
Final
**Arsenal**
**2025/2026**
**12**
**5**
**Semi-Final\***
Manchester City
2020/2021
13
5
Final
Manchester City
2022/2023
13
5
Final
Barcelona
2005/2006
13
5
Final
Real Madrid
1997/1998
11
5
Final
Manchester United
1996/1997
10
5
Semi-Final
Borussia Dortmund
1997/1998
10
5
Semi-Final
RAYA TO JOIN THE GREATS?
------------------------
David Raya has been in sparkling form in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League this season, conjuring up a host of fine stops to help preserve his clean sheets.
Our Spanish stopper has eight clean sheets in 11 matches, which puts him amongst some legendary names for the most in a single season. Only three goalkeepers have kept more clean sheets across a single campaign.
Most clean sheets by a goalkeeper in a UCL season
**Player**
**Club**
**Season**
**Clean sheets**
Santiago Cañizares
Valencia
2000/2001
9
Keylor Navas
PSG
2015/2016
9
Édouard Mendy
Chelsea
2020/2021
9
David Raya
Arsenal
2025/2026
8
Dida
Milan
2004/2005
8
Edwin van der Sar
Ajax
1994/1995
8
Edwin van der Sar
Ajax
1995/1996
8
Oliver Kahn
Bayern Munich
2000/2001
8
Dida
Milan
2002/2003
8
Víctor Valdés
Barcelona
2007/2008
8
Jan Oblak
Atlético de Madrid
2015/2016
8
Gianluigi Buffon
Juventus
2016/2017
8
André Onana
Inter
2022/2023
8
Since our return to the Champions League in 2023/24, clean sheets have been our currency. No player has kept more in that time than Daivd, who has 18 shutouts to his name. In addition, defenders William Saliba and Gabriel also rank in the top five.
Clean sheets since 2023/24
**Player**
**Clean Sheets**
David Raya
18
William Saliba
15
Yann Sommer
15
Gabriel Magalhães
13
Achraf Hakimi
13
Marquinhos
13
Gregor Kobel
12
Gianluigi Donnarumma
12
Nico Schlotterbeck
11
Virgil van Dijk
11
Willian Pacho
11
_Stats provided by OPTA - correct as of 29/04/26_
Copyright 2026 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.