Arsenal are staring down the barrel of a difficult road to the 2025 Champions League final, featuring a few of the best clubs in the world.
The Gunners wrapped up their impressive Champions League league phase campaign with a 1–2 victory over Girona to finish third in the standings. Arsenal automatically advanced to the round of 16 while clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich had to compete in the knockout phase playoffs.
Along the way, though, Arsenal suffered a few devastating injuries that greatly depleted their attacking options. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are out for the season, and Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are dealing with hamstring injuries.
Still, the Gunners are closing the gap to Liverpool in the Premier League standings and gearing up for a hard path to Munich in the Champions League.
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Arsenal's Road to the 2025 Champions League Final
Arsenal's road to the 2025 Champions League final is as follows:
- Round of 16: PSV Eindhoven
- Quarterfinals: Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid
- Semifinals: Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge or Aston Villa
First up for Arteta's squad are PSV Eindhoven. Despite the Gunners' injury woes, they should still get past the Eredivisie side. Sure, PSV have a victory against Liverpool on their resume, but the Reds' best players all sat out of the clash.
The big challenge for Arsenal comes in the quarterfinals against either Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid. William Saliba and Gabriel will have to be at their best to silence either Kylian Mbappé and co. or Antoine Griezmann and co. The good news for the Gunners is that Saka and Martinelli are expected to be back for the quarterfinals, giving Arsenal a much-needed boost up top.
If Arsenal pull off the upset, then they will likely face Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals. Arteta's men held the Reds to a 2–2 draw earlier in the Premier League season and would hope to find similar success again should the two English clubs meet in the Champions League. PSG, on the other hand, are a wild card that can give any team trouble.
Check out the full bracket below.
The road to Munich is set.#UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/M2ChMOgR8u
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) February 21, 2025
Who Could Arsenal Face in the 2025 Champions League Final?
Arsenal could face one of the following clubs in the 2025 Champions League final:
- Benfica
- Barcelona
- Borussia Dortmund
- Lille
- Bayern Munich
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Feyenoord
- Inter Milan
Barcelona jumps out as the favorites to make it to Munich from the right side of the bracket. The Catalans are top of La Liga and already won the Spanish Super Cup this season.
Inter Milan pose a considerable threat as well. The Italian giants only conceded one goal in their eight league phase matches. The Gunners were one of the seven teams that could not find a breakthrough against Simone Inzaghi's disciplined defense. In fact, Arsenal's 1–0 loss to Inter was the club's only defeat in the league phase.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal's Road to the 2025 Champions League Final.
