UEFA is poised to make a slight adjustment to the Champions League next season, just a year after implementing a completely new format. The Champions League wrapped up in Munich on Saturday night with Paris Saint-Germain deservedly securing their maiden trophy in the competition by trouncing Inter Milan.
The match marked the end of the first season of the revamped league table format, which seemed to be a hit for UEFA. Despite the final being rather one-sided, the European football organisers successfully merged the expanded 36-team format with a host of thrilling matches.
However, it appears they're not entirely satisfied with their innovation, where 36 teams battle it out in a league table phase to determine who progresses to the knockout stages, with Liverpool set to be impacted next season.
Under the current system, a team's position in the league phase dictates their seeding for the play-off round. This means the top eight teams receive a bye to the round of 16, where they face a play-off winner and have the advantage of playing the second leg at home.
Yet, from the round of 16 onwards, home advantage is determined by a random draw due to UEFA's preference for an 'open draw'. As a result, teams that performed well in the group stage could find themselves having to play the home leg first in the quarter-final or semi-final stage.
This season, Arsenal found itself in this exact predicament. The Gunners put on a stellar performance in the league phase, securing third place, ahead of Real Madrid in 11th and PSG in 15th, yet they were dealt away draws for both the quarter-final and semi-final second legs.
MADRID, SPAIN - APRIL 16: Mikel Arteta, head coach of Arsenal FC looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Real Madrid C.F. and Arsenal FC at Santiago Bernabeu stadium on April 16, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo By Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Mikel Arteta voiced his frustrations (Image: Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press via Getty Images)
Despite trouncing Real with a 5-1 aggregate score, Mikel Arteta's squad reportedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation, feeling that their consistent performance in the league phase wasn't rewarded in the knockout stages.
Their grievances haven't gone unnoticed, as German newspaper Bild reports that UEFA is almost certain to alter the way they conduct the knockout draws.
The UEFA Club Competitions Committee convened on Friday and reportedly agreed on the proposed change before the Champions League final – final approval is now 'considered a formality.'
Other potential changes were also discussed, such as moving straight to penalty shoot-outs instead of extra time and preventing two clubs from the same nation from clashing until the later stages of the competition. However, no agreement was reached on these proposals.
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Arsenal wasn't the only club to be disadvantaged by the 'open' draw system: Barcelona hosted the first leg of their quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund, despite finishing second in the league phase.
The Gunners' Champions League journey was halted at the semi-finals by the trophy-lifters, PSG, yet Arteta didn't concede superiority to the Parisian club. "100 per cent I don't think there's been a better team [than Arsenal] in the competition from what I have seen, but we are out," he remarked.
"This competition is about the boxes and in both boxes are the strikers and the goalkeepers and theirs was the best in both games."