A recent UEFA rule change has handed Arsenal a huge advantage in the knockout stages of the 2025/26 Champions League, which the other Premier League sides that progressed from the league phase will not have.
On Wednesday (January 28), Mikel Arteta’s side overcame Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan in their final group game of the 2025/26 Champions League league phase and finished as group winners with a perfect record of eight wins in as many games.
Viktor Gyokeres put the home side ahead on two minutes before the visitors levelled things through Jorginho’s penalty five minutes later. Kai Havertz restored the English side’s lead on 15 minutes before Gabriel Martinelli made it 3-1 20 minutes later. The away side then made it 3-2 through Ricardinho in second-half stoppage time.
Advert
Meanwhile, fellow Premier League sides Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs also ensured their spots in the round of 16. While Newcastle's 1-1 draw at PSG meant they had to settle for a play-off spot.
Despite five of the six English teams qualifying for the round of 16 by finishing in the top eight, not all of them will reap the rewards of a UEFA rule change.
In the 2024/25 season, home advantage was decided by a random draw after the round of 16.
If a team finished higher in the group phase, they could still play their first leg of all knockout ties - including the quarter-finals and semi-finals - at home rather than away.
Arsenal were one of the teams impacted by this last term and faced Real Madrid at the Emirates in the first leg of their quarter-final despite finishing third in the league phase, while Los Blancos progressed through a play-off victory against Manchester City.
This year’s competition added an incentive for teams that finished in the top four of the 36-team group phase.
The top four teams - Arsenal, Bayern, Liverpool and Spurs - are guaranteed a second leg at home in the round of 16 and quarter-finals should they reach that stage.
For teams that finished first and second, which this time around was Arsenal and Bayern Munich, they will also boast the same advantage in the semi-finals.
So if Arsenal reach the final, which will take place in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, all three of their knockout tie second legs will take place at the Emirates in front of their home fans, which is typically seen as an advantage.
UEFA regulations also state that “if a seeded team is beaten in any round, the team that eliminates them takes over their seeding position in the bracket path".
Topics: Arsenal, Champions League, UEFA, Football, Premier League, Mikel Arteta
Luke Davies