Arsenal have announced their star-studded squad for the new league phase of the 2024/25 Champions League, aiming to go deep in this season’s competition.
After a memorable last-16 penalty shootout win over Porto and an agonising 3-2 aggregate loss to German giants Bayern Munchen, the Gunners will be hoping to rewrite history and announce themselves as one of the main contenders for this year's title.
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Who has made the squad?
Surprise inclusions for Mikel Arteta’s side include Kieran Tierney as part of the defensive unit. The Scottish international has only just returned to the training pitch after suffering a hamstring injury at the Euro 2024 this summer. England youth international, Tommy Setford, is also part of List A alongside new signing Neto.
Other summer signings that will be hoping to make their Arsenal Champions League debuts are Italy’s Euro 2024 breakout star, Riccardo Calafiori, Euro 2024 winner, Mikel Merino, and the on-loan Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
Two separate lists can be submitted to make up the squad for the Champions League - A and B.
List A consists of 25 players, two must be goalkeepers and eight must be ‘locally trained players’.
A locally trained player is someone who has been club-trained on Arsenal’s books for three whole seasons or 26 months between the ages of 15 and 21.
Or, association-trained players who were on another club's books in the same association for three whole seasons of 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.
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List A in full:
Goalkeepers:
David Raya, Neto and Tommy Setford
Defenders:
Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jakub Kiwior, Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney
Midfielders:
Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Jorginho, Mikel Merino and Declan Rice
Forwards:
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling
List A can be altered if Arsenal make the round of 16 in February 2025 and they will be able to register a further three players who may be new signings or players returning from injury. However, the rule of a maximum of 25 players with at least eight locally trained players remains.
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Where are the Hale End youth stars?
There is no place for standout youth players such as Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly in List A because UEFA allows under-21 players to be chosen on List B no later than 00:00 CET on the night before each match of the competition.
A player can be included in List B if they are born on, or after, January 1st 2003 and have been eligible to play for two years since their 15th birthday.
Arteta can choose an unlimited number of under-21 players for his Champions League squads depending on their availability, meaning that we are likely to see the likes of Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, Ayden Heaven and Josh Nichols as part of the squad at some point in the season.
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Who will Arsenal face in the new league phase?
As there is now one whole league for the Champions League instead of separate groups, each team will play eight games to see if they can make it to the last 16.
Arsenal will play four home games and four away games and if they finish in the top eight then they will reach the knockout rounds automatically.
Who Arsenal will face
With Arsenal being drawn out of pot 2 they will face some of Europe’s finest in the early stages of the competition. This includes a home tie against Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and an away tie at Inter, where the Gunners famously won 1-5 over 20 years ago.
There are also some tricky away opponents in Atalanta and Girona where Arteta’s side will have to deal with some thunderous atmospheres to take away all three points.
Arsenal’s opponent list in full:
Atalanta (A) - Thursday 19 September 2024, 20:00 BST
PSG (H) - Tuesday 1 October 2024, 20:00 BST
Shakhtar Donetsk (H) - Tuesday 22 October 2024, 20:00 BST
Inter (A) - Wednesday 6 November 2024, 20:00 GMT
Sporting (A) - Tuesday 26 November 2024, 20:00 GMT
Monaco (H) - Wednesday 11 December 2024, 20:00 GMT
Dinamo Zagreb (H) - Wedesnday 22 January 2025, 20:00 GMT
Girona (A) - Wednesday 29 January 2025, 20:00 GMT
