Arsenal's potential Champions League opponents, confirmed pots, draw date and matchday rounds

Much will be expected of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side once again next season after going so close in the race for the Premier League title in the 2023/24 campaign. Finishing two points behind champions Man City, the Gunners will be looking to go one better and finally get their hands on the title for the first time since 2004.

Not only will Arsenal be targeting a strong year in the Premier League, Arteta will also have his eye on claiming Europe's biggest prize at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday, May 31, 2025. The north London club have been installed as the third favourites to win next season's edition of the Champions League, with only Man City and current holders Real Madrid ahead of them.

The Champions League is undergoing a big change ahead of the upcoming season with an additional four teams added to the new league phase that will be replacing the traditional group stage. Rather than having 32 teams split into four groups of eight, 36 teams will take part in one big league and play a total of eight games.

In order to establish the fixtures, all 36 teams will be split into four pots of nine based on coefficient rankings. Each team will then be drawn against two other teams from each pot, with one game coming at home and the other away.

The top eight teams in the league advance directly through to the round of 16, with the teams from ninth to 24th then competing in the knockout round play-offs for a place in the final 16. The new format means there will be bigger games right from the off with teams from pot 1 facing each other.

So which pot will Arsenal be in for the Champions League league phase draw? As the pots are based on coefficient rankings, Arsenal will find themselves in pot 2 for the draw in August.

READ MORE: Arsenal face Champions League stadium change as new sides confirmed for revamped system

READ MORE: Arsenal transfer hypocrisy emerges after Mikel Arteta's £65m shock move and double exit

Other teams set to feature in pot 2 include: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Atalanta, Benfica, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and AC Milan. Milan's place in pot 2 is not guaranteed just yet as they could still drop into pot 3 with another seven teams still to be added to the main league phase.

In terms of pot 1, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Barcelona are the nine teams that make up the top pot. Pot 3 and 4 will very much depend on the final seven teams who come through qualifying.

Red Star Belgrade, Galatasaray, Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb are just four of the teams set to feature in the play-off round after winning the league title in their respective country. Teams such as Celtic, AS Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona and Brest look set to take their place in pot 4 ahead of the league phase draw on Thursday, August 29.

As has always been the case in the group stage of the Champions League, teams from the same nation cannot be drawn against each other. That means Arsenal will avoid Man City, Liverpool and Aston Villa in the newly-formed league phase.

Qualified teams as things stand

England: Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Aston Villa

Spain: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Atletico Madrid

Germany: Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund

Italy: Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Atalanta, Bologna

France: Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco, Brest

Netherlands: PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord

Portugal: Sporting CP, Benfica

Belgium: Club Brugge

Scotland: Celtic

Austria: Sturm Graz

Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk

Round dates

Matchday 1: September 17–19, 2024

Matchday 2: October 1/2, 2024

Matchday 3: October 22/23, 2024

Matchday 4: November 5/6, 2024

Matchday 5: November 26/27, 2024

Matchday 6: December 10/11, 2024

Matchday 7: January 21/22, 2025

Matchday 8: January 29 2025

Knockout round play-offs: February 11/12 & 18/19, 2025

Round of 16: March 4/5 & 11/12, 2025

Quarter-finals: April 8/9 & 15/16, 2025

Semi-finals: April 29/30 & May 6/7, 2025

Final: May 31, 2025