Arsenal secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by beating Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday night, and Mikel Arteta’s side now know who they could face in future rounds of the competition after the conclusion of the remaining last 16 ties on Wednesday.
The Gunners eased past Leverkusen, beating the German side 3-1 on aggregate, with goals from Eberechi Eze and Declan Rice sealing the victory at the Emirates in the second leg. Arteta’s team are favourites to go all the way and win the piece of silverware that has eluded the North London club for its entire history.
A last-eight tie against Sporting CP awaits Arsenal, in a game which will see Viktor Gyokeres return to the club that gave him a platform to showcase his talents on the European stage. If they can overcome the Portuguese giants, then the Gunners will start to feel that anything is possible this season.
Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final opponents revealed
Arsenal have been rewarded for finishing top of the League Phase with a relatively favourable draw. Avoiding the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, the Gunners have certainly had fortune on their side when it comes to the draws in the European competition this term.
If they beat Sporting, then they’ll face the winners of the tie between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Atletico earned their place in the last eight by comfortably beating Tottenham Hotspur over two legs. Diego Simeone’s side eased their way past the Lilywhites, with the work being done in a ruthless 5-2 first-leg thrashing at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Big win at home ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/B5DM0UdIQg
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) March 10, 2026
The Spanish outfit currently sit third in La Liga, 13 points behind leaders Barcelona, and thus, their hopes of winning the league are slim. This means Simeone should be able to dedicate all attention to the Champions League, and they’ll be hopeful of progressing past their opponents in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal comfortably eased their way past Atletico in the League Phase, beating Simeone’s team 4-0 at the Emirates. Arteta will be confident that his side can replicate this in a possible semi-final.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are currently embroiled in an intense title race domestically, and this could serve as a distraction for Hansi Flick’s men in a potential semi-final with Arsenal. The Catalan side have consistently shown signs of defensive vulnerability this season, and the Gunners would be confident in their ability to hurt them over two legs.
That said, Barcelona did showcase their attacking quality in their emphatic 8-3 aggregate victory over Newcastle United in the round of 16.
Who can Arsenal face in the Champions League final?
Arsenal will already be dreaming of making their way to Budapest for their second-ever Champions League final. They’ll feel they can beat everyone on their side of the bracket, and then it’ll merely be a matter of whether they can deal with whoever comes their way in the one-off match in Hungary.
There are four potential final opponents for Arsenal, all of whom secured their place in the quarter-finals with impressive last 16 victories. They are the following:
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Liverpool
- Real Madrid
- Bayern Munich
Real Madrid will play Bayern Munich in the marquee last eight match-up, after the former thrashed Manchester City and the latter eased past Atalanta. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain face Liverpool, after the French club beat Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate, and the Merseysiders edged past Galatasaray.
Champions League fixture dates
The fixtures for the remainder of the Champions League have been mapped out for the schedule, with the dates coming thick and fast.
| Fixture round | First leg | Second leg |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final | 7/8 April | 14/15 April |
| Semi-final | 28/29 April | 5/6 May |
| Final | 30 May | – |
Arsenal will be extremely hopeful of making it all the way and landing silverware in late May.
