The potential seeding pots for the upcoming Champions League draw have been revealed, and it appears Arsenal could be in for a tough ride following the conclusion of most of Europe’s top leagues.
Arsenal are preparing for their second consecutive Champions League campaign after narrowly missing out on the Premier League title to reigning champions Manchester City.
Next season will see significant changes to Uefa’s flagship event, with the number of competing teams increasing from 32 to 36. The traditional group stage is being replaced by a league stage, where each team will face two clubs from the four seeding pots.
Seeding pots will now be determined by coefficients, moving away from the previous system which was based on the holders, Europa League winners and domestic champions.
Germany has secured a fifth Champions League spot due to their superior coefficient rating, while Atalanta’s recent success has earned Italy an impressive six spots.
Due to their six-year absence from the Champions League prior to this season, Arsenal are expected to compete in the second seeding block alongside Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid and Atalanta.
This situation could lead to a challenging Champions League campaign for Arsenal, as the first pot seeds have been confirmed to include Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Inter, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig and Barcelona.
The Gunners are below Liverpool despite finishing higher than them in the Premier League in both of the last two seasons.
That is because of the Reds’ superior UEFA coefficient courtesy of their performances in Europe in recent years.
Pot two has been confirmed to include Bayer Leverkusen, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Juventus, Benfica, Arsenal, Club Brugge and AC Milan, with Shakhtar Donetsk expected to join them through qualifying.
Seven more spots are up for grabs in the qualification stage. If things go as planned, Aston Villa will find themselves in pot four alongside Monaco, Stuttgart and Bologna, while pot three could see Celtic, Feyenoord, Sporting CP and PSV.
The group-stage phase will now feature eight games instead of six. The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, while those ranked ninth to 24th will compete in a play-off to join them.
Teams placed 25th to 36th, along with the losing eight sides, will be eliminated from the competition.
Clubs from the same country cannot face each other, which means Arsenal, City, Liverpool and Aston Villa will not be pitted against each other.
In a worst-case scenario, Arsenal may have to contend with Bayern Munich and Barcelona from Pot 1 and Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus from Pot 2.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk