Arsenal learn Champions League round of 16 opponents as draw permutations explained

Arsenal have discovered who they will play in the Champions League round

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

It has been revealed who Arsenal will play next in the Champions League. The Gunners secured automatic qualification to the round of 16 after placing third in the ‘league phase’.

By finishing in the top eight, Arsenal bypassed a two-legged knockout phase play-off tie, along with Aston Villa, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Inter Milan, Lille and Liverpool. They were later joined by Bayern Munich, Benfica, Club Brugge and Feyenoord, who each advanced to the next stage of the competition via the play-offs on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday evening, Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and PSV Eindhoven won their knockout phase play-offs, also booking a place in the round of 16. The top eight teams from the ‘league phase’ go into one of two possible positions on either side of the tournament tree.

The top eight – one of which being Arsenal – are seeded and will be drawn in pairs: 1st place on one side and 2nd place on the other, 3rd place on one side and 4th place on the other – and vice versa. The seeded pairs will be drawn into opposite places, and they won’t meet again until the final.

Seeded teams – like the Gunners – will also be at home in the round-of-16 second leg. So, Arsenal or Inter Milan will play either PSV Eindhoven or Feyenoord, in the next round of the Champions League. PSV knocked Juventus out of the competition on Wednesday, while Feyenoord progressed past AC Milan on Tuesday.

Liverpool or Barcelona will play Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica, Lille or Aston Villa will play Borussia Dortmund or Club Brugge and Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen will play Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

The first legs of the round of 16 will be played on March 4 and March 5, and the second legs will be played on March 11 and March 12. Each club plays once on a Tuesday and once on a Wednesday.

Back in September, Mikel Arteta insisted that the Champions League campaign can only be considered a success if Arsenal win the competition. Speaking to TNT Sports, the Gunners boss said: “I’m extremely motivated. It’s a competition that we love playing, every player loves playing and here we are again.

“Success, I think, at this level is actually to win it. But we made some bigger steps [last season] I think. We learn a lot from the experience. We had some great moments, some other moments that we have to do better and improve. We have to put those learnings into this season.”