Piero Hincapie has made four appearances in the Champions League this season
Arsenal Football Newsletter
After winning all eight fixtures to top the group ahead of Bayern Munich and complete the the perfect league phase, Arsenal avoided a knockout phase play-off tie.
Furthermore, as a result of finishing first the Gunners have secured home advantage for their remaining fixtures in the knockout round.
But who can they face? Well Arsenal will take on the winners of the knockout phase play-off between the 15th/16th and 17th/18th seeds in the round of 16 next month.
Their potential opponents have been narrowed down from four to three following Tuesday night’s action with Bayer Leverkusen overcoming Olympiacos 2-0 on aggregate.
Borussia Dortmund are favourites to progress in the other knockout phase play-off as they currently hold a 2-0 advantage over Atalanta from the first leg.
Interestingly, Piero Hincapie is on loan at Arsenal from Leverkusen this season. Could that complicate matters if the Gunners draw the 2023/24 Bundesliga champions? No.
Why could Hincapie play against parent club Leverkusen?
In the Premier League, a loan player is not allowed to play against his ‘parent’ club. The rule handbook states that "during the period of the temporary transfer... a player shall not play against the transferor club". This has been the case since 2004.
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That is not the case for the Champions League due to UEFA’s competition integrity rules. European football’s governing body has long been clear on its “clear provisions which strictly forbid any club to exert, or attempt to exert, any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may (or may not) field in a match.”
In the league phase, Nicolas Jackson played for loanee club Bayern Munich against parent club Chelsea, as did Randal Kolo Muani, scoring twice for Tottenham in a 5-3 loss to Paris Saint-Germain.