The Champions League undergoes a major revamp next season (AFP via Getty)
Arsenal will not be in Pot 1 for the Champions League draw next season.
Europe’s elite club competition undergoes a major revamp for the start of the 2024/25 campaign, with the traditional group stage replaced by a league format.
The competition has been expanded from 32 teams to 36 and from next season, clubs will face eight different sides with four home matches and four away games.
The draw, which will take place on August 29, will split all qualified teams into four seeding pots. To determine which team goes in each pot, the UEFA club coefficient is used, apart from the Champions League holders who will be placed in Pot 1.
From there, each team will be drawn to play two opponents from each of these pots.
Manchester City and Liverpool would make it into Pot 1, while Arsenal, who are 22nd in the UEFA club coefficient ranking, would be placed in Pot 2. Aston Villa are likely to be in Pot 4 but could also be in Pot 3 depending on who progresses through the qualification rounds this summer.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2024/25 DRAW PREDICTED POTS
POT 1: Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Barcelona
Pot 2: Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, AC Milan, Club Brugge (need to qualify), Shakhtar Donetsk (need to qualify)
Pot 3: Feyenoord, Sporting CP, PSV, Celtic, (Lille, PAOK, Fenerbahce, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Young Boys all via qualification)
Pot 4: Monaco, Aston Villa, Bologna, Girona, Stuttgart, Sturm Graz, Stade Brestois, Galatasaray (need to qualify), Sparta Prague (need to qualify)
The new Champions League format and the removal of the group stage means less emphasis is placed on the pot seedings as teams from each pot will now be paired against each other.
UEFA claims that the new format ‘gives the opportunity for clubs to test themselves against a wider range of opponents and raises the prospect for fans of seeing the top teams go head to head more often and earlier in the competition’.
Arsenal, for example, could play Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Benfica, PSV and Sporting as part of the new league phase.
The clubs who finish in the top eight of the new Champions League format will automatically qualify for the last-16 stage.
The teams who finish ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged play-off tie to reach the knockout phase.
The sides who finish 25th or lower will be eliminated from the competition and will not drop into the Europa League.
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