Arsenal were drawn to face the stern tests of Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League’s new first-round format as they look to claim the club’s first top-tier European trophy.
UEFA staged a draw ceremony in Monaco on Thursday for its revamped Champions League group phase that now sees an expanded 36 teams put into a single league table. Each team will play eight games before the knockouts — two more than previous years — with the final round of matches taking place on Jan. 29.
Each team was drawn against eight different opponents — four matches at home, and four away — two from each of the four seeded pots.
The top eight teams will progress directly to the round of 16. Teams finishing between ninth and 24th place will advance to a knockout play-off stage, while the bottom 12 teams will be eliminated.
As well as hosting PSG and a visit to the San Siro to play Inter, Arsenal will host Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, and Monaco at the Emirates.
Away trips to Europa League holders Atalanta, Sporting Lisbon and Girona are also on the cards for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Arsenal reached the quarterfinals in their return to the competition last season before being eliminated by familiar foes Bayern Munich. They defeated Porto in the round of 16 via some David Raya heroics in a penalty shootout.
Arsenal will hope the summer arrivals of Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino can help the team make a deeper run in the tournament. Last term’s quarterfinal was their first since 2010, with their last appearance in the semifinal coming in 2009.
