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Our 21 greatest ever Champions League goals

Champions League football is back for another year as we prepare to face Europe's elite in 2025/26.

We have competed in the premier European club competition on 21 occasions since changing its name from the European Cup in 1992.

The draw for the league phase is almost here, and to celebrate, we've picked out 21 of our very best Champions League goals since our debut in 1998!

Read more When is the Champions League 2025/26 draw?

Robert Pires v Lazio 

October 17, 2000Lazio 1-1 Arsenal

Robert Pires joined us at the turn of the millennium, following a successful Euro 2000, and his first goal was a beauty.

Pavel Nedved had given Lazio the lead, but with time ticking down, our French winger burst in down the left before curling his late effort into the top corner to give us a vital point to qualify for the next round.

Read more 25 years on: How we beat Real Madrid to sign Pires

Thierry Henry v Inter Milan

November 25, 2004Inter Milan 1-5 Arsenal

After losing two of our first three, a last-minute win over Dynamo Kyiv revived our hopes of qualification as we headed to the San Siro to take on Inter Milan.

On one of the biggest stages, we put on a performance for the ages, with Thierry Henry scoring a remarkable solo goal to help us to a 5-1 victory.

Emmanuel Adebayor v Liverpool

April 8, 2008Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal

While Emmanuel Adebayor scored the goal, this effort will be remembered for Theo Walcott's remarkable assist.

Picking up the ball inside his own half, our young forward powered his way through multiple Liverpool players before laying the ball on a plate for Adebayor, who fired home to make the score 2-2 on the night.

Read more When is the Champions League 2025/26 draw?

Thierry Henry v Bayern Munich

March 9, 2005Arsenal 1-0 Bayern Munich

After losing the first leg 3-1, we needed a big performance at Highbury to get back into the contest. Up stepped Thierry Henry.

The Frenchman took a long ball down with perfection before smashing his effort beyond Oliver Kahn to give us hope of a fightback.

Lukas Podolski v Montpellier

November 21, 2012Arsenal 2-0 Montpellier

Having picked up two wins in our 2012/13 group, one more win over Montpellier was required to secure progression to the round of 16.

Jack Wilshere opened the scoring before Lukas Podolski rounded off the night with an inch-perfect volley following a one-two with Olivier Giroud.

Read more Gunners fire in record Champions League goals haul

Bukayo Saka v Bayern Munich

April 9, 2024Arsenal 2-2 Bayern Munich

Our first Champions League quarter-final in 14 years was met with a vociferous Emirates Stadium crowd, and it took just 12 minutes to raise the roof.

Good work from Ben White found Bukayo Saka, who turned inside before rolling the ball into the bottom corner out of the reach of Manuel Neuer.

Ray Parlour v Valencia

April 4, 2001Arsenal 2-1 Valencia

After going 1-0 down against Valencia in the Champions League quarter-finals, we needed a big second half at Highbury to turn the tide.

Thierry Henry equalised before Ray Parlour's piledriver two minutes later sent our home crowd wild and gave us a 2-1 advantage.

Cesc Fabregas v AC Milan

March 4, 2008AC Milan 0-2 Arsenal

After drawing the first leg of our round of 16 clash against AC Milan, history was required to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

With the game poised at 0-0, Cesc Fabregas tried his luck from range and nestled his effort into the bottom corner to give us a precious 1-0 lead. Emmanuel Adebayor rounded things off as we became the first English side to win against AC Milan at the San Siro.

Read more Re-live our greatest strikes against AC Milan

Edu v Celta Vigo

February 24, 2004Celta Vigo 2-3 Arsenal

Having turned things around in our group, we qualified top in 2003/04 to draw Celta Vigo in the round of 16, heading to Spain for the first leg.

With the game at 1-1, Edu Gaspar picked up the ball on the edge of the box, beating two players before bending a right-footed effort into the top corner. We would go on to win the game 3-2.

Mesut Ozil v Ludogorets

November 1, 2016Ludogorets 2-3 Arsenal

Two goals in 15 minutes put Ludogorets Razgrad 2-0 up in Bulgaria, leaving us with work to do to get anything from the contest.

Mohamed Elneny and Olivier Giroud levelled the match, and as we ticked into the final three minutes of the game, Mesut Ozil settled the contest with an all-time classic.

After being set clear by Elneny, Mesut chipped the ball over the goalkeeper before sending two defenders to the floor and passing the ball home to give us a 3-2 victory and complete the comeback.

Thierry Henry v Sparta Prague

October 18, 2005Sparta Prague 0-2 Arsenal

History beckoned for Thierry Henry as he looked to become our all-time leading goalscorer against Sparta Prague in October 2005.

Having come on as a substitute for Jose Antonio Reyes, Henry curled a magnificent outside-of-the-boot effort into the corner to give us the lead.

His second effort would be his 186th for us as he surpassed Ian Wright in our goalscoring charts.

Read more Who are our top Champions League goalscorers?

Freddie Ljungberg v Juventus

December 4 2001Arsenal 3-1 Juventus

Much like Theo Walcott's effort against Liverpool in 2008, Freddie Ljungberg's goal will always be remembered for the assist.

Dennis Bergkamp twisted his opponents inside out before slipping the ball through for Freddie, and the Swede chipped the ball in to give us a 3-1 win over Italian giants Juventus.

Dennis Bergkamp v Bayer Leverkusen

February 27, 2002Arsenal 4-1 Bayer Leverkusen

From provider to finisher, Dennis Bergkamp produced an inch-perfect chip against Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.

Twisting and turning on the edge of the box, Dennis found half a yard of space before lobbing Hans-Jorg Butt in the Leverkusen net.

Thierry Henry v Roma

November 27, 2002Roma 1-3 Arsenal

We kicked off the Champions League second group stage in style with a Thierry Henry masterclass against AS Roma in 2002.

The Frenchman scored a stunning hat-trick, with the pick of the bunch coming courtesy of a free-kick at the Stadio Olimpico.

Gabriel Martinelli v Sevilla

October 24, 2023Sevilla 1-2 Arsenal

We returned to Champions League football in 2023/24, and our first away win came in Sevilla thanks to two top strikes.

After defending a corner, Gabriel Jesus produced a wonderful turn to take two Sevilla players out of the game before unleashing Gabriel Martinelli, who rounded the goalkeeper to give us a 1-0 lead.

Tomas Rosicky v Hamburg

September 13, 2006Hamburg 1-2 Arsenal

Tomas Rosicky had already showcased his potency from range in the 2006 World Cup, but just three months later, he was doing the same again in an Arsenal jersey.

The Czech star picked up the ball from 25 yards out before unleashing a thunderous effort to put us 2-0 in front in Germany.

Declan Rice v Real Madrid

April 8, 2025Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid

Defending champions Real Madrid headed to Emirates Stadium and were greeted with a special night in N5.

With the game at 0-0, we broke the deadlock in stunning fashion. Declan Rice's free-kick curled beyond the ball and beyond Thibaut Courtois to send the crowd into raptures.

Emmanuel Adebyaor v Villarreal

 April 7, 2009Villarreal 1-1 Arsenal

Marcos Senna stunningly opened the scoring for Villarreal at the El Madrigal, but we produced our own moment of magic in the second half.

After the ball was played through to Emmanuel Adebayor, the Togolese forward took a touch before acrobatically firing into the bottom corner to give us a crucial away goal.

Aaron Ramsey v Galatasaray

December 9, 2014Galatasaray 1-4 Arsenal

Having already secured qualification to the round of 16, our trip to Galatasaray was an opportunity to play without pressure - it produced one of our best Champions League goals in our history.

After the ball had been cleared by the Galatasaray defence, it dropped to the feet of Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman thundered the ball into the top corner from range, leaving everyone at Rams Park stunned.

Declan Rice v Real Madrid

April 8, 2025Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid

Having already scored one stunning free-kick, Declan Rice lined-up another set-piece effort, looking to beat Courtois again.

He did so, and in remarkable fashion, planting the ball into the top corner to double our lead on the night and leave the Emirates crowd in disbelief.

Read more Watch a full match replay of our Real Madrid clash

Thierry Henry v Real Madrid

February 21, 2006Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal

We headed to the Santiago Bernabeu in February 2006 looking to cause one of the biggest upsets in our history.

The game was settled by an all-time Champions League classic goal from Thierry Henry. 

The Frenchman shrugged off several challenges before placing the ball beyond Iker Casillas to silence the Madrid crowd and seal a famous night in the Spanish capital.

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