The draw for this season’s Champions League has provided us with eight opponents, some of which we have plenty of history with as well as some new faces.
We’ll be tackling the Italian, French, Portuguese, Ukrainian and Croatian champions, as well as the reigning Europa League holders during our eight games, so here’s a guide to who we’ll be taking on as we battle for a spot in the last 16:
Inter Milan
How they qualified: Italian champions
Best European Cup performance: 3x winners (1963/64, 1964/65, 2009/10)
Last season: Champions League round of 16
Inter won just their second Serie A title in the last 14 seasons in style, clinching the championship with five matches to spare via a 2-1 victory against rivals Milan, who finished 19 points behind them. Having finished Champions League runners-up the previous year, Simeone Inzaghi’s team couldn’t progress past the last 16 when they were beaten on penalties by Atletico Madrid, but they did win the Italian Super Cup.
Head-to-head
P 2 W1 D0 L1
This will be the first time we have faced the Nerazzurri since one of our greatest-ever European nights, when we won 5-1 in the San Siro during the 2003/04 group stage. We avenged a 3-0 loss at Highbury thanks to a Thierry Henry double, plus strikes from Freddie Ljungberg, Edu and Robert Pires.
Paris Saint-Germain
How they qualified: French champions
Best European Cup performance: Runners-up (2019/20)
Last season: Champions League semi-finals
A tenth Ligue 1 title in 12 years was claimed last term, while Luis Enrique rounded off his first campaign in charge by completing a domestic double. However the Champions League title they crave continues to evade them, as despite reaching the semi-final stage for the third time in five seasons, they were beaten by finalists Borussia Dortmund. Kylian Mbappe departed for Real Madrid this summer to signal the end of their Galacticos era.
Head-to-head
P4 W1 D3 L0
We boast an unbeaten record against the Parisians, having first met in the 1993/94 European Cup Winners Cup semi-final. A 1-1 draw in France was followed by a 1-0 home success with the late Kevin Campbell grabbing the crucial goal to book our spot in the final. There were also a pair of draws in the 2016/17 Champions League group stage when Unai Emery was PSG boss.
Shakhtar Donetsk
How they qualified: Ukrainian champions
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2010/11)
Last season: Champions League group stage, Europa League knockout round play-offs
Shakhtar retained the Ukrainian Premier League title but were closely run by Dynamo Kyiv, before beating Vorskla Poltava to clinch the Ukrainian Cup. A third-place finish in their Champions League group saw them drop into the Europa League where Marseille knocked them out in the play-offs. While they continue to play their domestic games in their homeland, their European fixtures will take place in Germany at Schalke Arena.
Head-to-head
P4 W2 D0 L2
All four of our previous meetings have come in the Champions League. The first was back in 2000 when a rare Martin Keown brace snatched a 3-2 victory at Highbury, and with qualification already assured we lost 3-0 in the return. 10 years later, we recorded a thumping 5-1 win at Emirates Stadium, but again fell to defeat in Donetsk when former Gunner Eduardo netted the winner in a 2-1 defeat.
Atalanta
How they qualified: Europa League holders
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (2019/20)
Last season: Europa League winners
Atalanta ended a 61-year wait for a major honour when they took the Europa League by storm to bring the trophy back to Bergamo, beating an undefeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final thanks to a hat-trick by former Everton and Charlton man Ademola Lookman. They nearly also claimed the Coppa Italia too but were pipped by Juventus in the final, and finished fourth in Serie A.
Head-to-head
Never faced each other
Dinamo Zagreb
How they qualified: Play-off winners (beat Qarabag 5-0 agg)
Best European Cup performance: Group stage (nine occasions)
Last season: Europa League play-offs, Conference League round of 16
Another side who completed a domestic double, albeit after a change of manager after Sergej Jakirovic replaced former Liverpool midfielder Igor Biscan in August 2023. They were knocked out of the Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds, but did get to the last 16 of the Conference League after knocking out Real Betis but lost to PAOK. They won the title by eight points ahead of Rijeka, who they also beat in the Croatian Cup final.
Head-to-head
P4 W3 D0 L1
Our first encounters came in 2006/07 Champions League qualifiers, and we booked our place in the group stage courtesy of a 3-0 success in Croatia before a 2-1 success in the first-ever European game at Emirates Stadium. Dinamo ended a 16-year wait for a group stage win at our expense in 2015/16, before we avenged that 2-1 defeat with a 3-0 success when Alexis Sanchez netted twice.
Sporting Lisbon
How they qualified: Portuguese champions
Best European Cup performance: Quarter-finals (1982/83)
Last season: Europa League round of 16
A second Primeira Liga crown in four years came Lisbon’s way last term, as they finished 10 points ahead of Benfica, however their other major rival for domestic honours would get their revenge, as the Lions lost the Portuguese Cup final to Porto. Their hopes of lifting a European trophy for the first time since 1964 were ended by Atalanta in the Europa League last-16.
Head-to-head
P6 W2 D4 L0
We have plenty of history, stretching back to 1969/70 when a John Radford goal and a George Graham brace saw us progress during our successful Fairs Cup run. In 2018 we played two Europa League group games – Danny Welbeck’s strike saw us come out on top at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, before a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium booked our place in the knockout stages, while we were eliminated from the same competition last year when Sporting triumphed on penalties in the round of 16 after a 2-2 away draw and a 1-1 stalemate in north London.
Monaco
How they qualified: Runners-up in France
Best European Cup performance: Runners-up (2003/04)
Last season: Not in European competition
The side from the principality secured a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2018/19 last term after finishing second to PSG, albeit nine points behind, and were eliminated from the French Cup by third-tier Rouen in the round of 16. We’ll be reunited with Folarin Balogun, who hit eight goals in 32 appearances in his debut season at the club following his switch from north London.
Head-to-head
P2 W1 D0 L1
Our only competitive meetings with Monaco came in the 2014/15 season when the French giants knocked us out at the last-16 stage. They roared into a 3-1 first-leg lead at Emirates Stadium when a last-minute Yannick Carrasco strike would prove crucial, as despite us recording a 2-0 win at the Stade Louis II thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey, we were eliminated on away goals.
Girona
How they qualified: Third place in Spain
Best European Cup performance: Debut
Last season: Not in European competition
An incredible campaign by the City Football Group-owned side saw them top La Liga going into February after just one defeat in their opening 22 games. While they were eventually overtaken by Real Madrid and Barcelona, whom they recorded a league double over, they recorded their best-ever finish in just their fourth season ever in Spain’s top-flight to qualify for Europe for the first time.
Head-to-head
Never faced each other
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