Arsenal went to bed on Tuesday night in ninth place in the Champions League table without kicking a ball, after Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Sporting CP all won and jumped above them.
It is not a crisis. Arsenal have played one game fewer than every club that passed them, they are unbeaten after three matches, and they have conceded only twice. But ninth is the first spot outside the automatic places for the last 16, and Mikel Arteta’s side now head to Prague on Wednesday knowing exactly what is on the line.
The good news is that the maths is simple. Win at Slavia Prague and the Gunners climb back into the top eight, whatever else happens on Wednesday night.
How Tuesday night changed the Arsenal Champions League table
Nine games were played on Tuesday, and three of the results hit Arsenal directly. Barcelona beat Aston Villa 3-0 at Camp Nou, with Lamine Yamal scoring early and Raphinha adding two more. Bayern, who drew 2-2 with Arsenal in Munich last month, won 2-0 at Atletico Madrid through Lennart Karl and Konrad Laimer. Sporting CP won 1-0 away at Shakhtar.
Before kick-off, all three sat below Arsenal’s seven points. By full-time, Barcelona and Sporting were on nine and Bayern on eight. This is how the top ten looks after Tuesday’s games:
| Pos | Club | Played | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSG | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Aston Villa | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 3 | 9 |
| 5 | Real Madrid | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Sporting CP | 4 | 9 |
| 7 | Real Betis | 3 | 9 |
| 8 | Bayern Munich | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Arsenal | 3 | 7 |
| 10 | Stuttgart | 4 | 7 |
The top eight go straight into the last 16. Ninth to 24th go into the knockout play-off round, which means two extra games that nobody at Arsenal wants.
PSG are out on their own
Paris Saint-Germain are the only side with a perfect record. They thrashed Villarreal 6-0 in Spain, with Fabian Ruiz scoring twice and Joao Neves, Desire Doue, Senny Mayulu and 17-year-old David Boly also on the scoresheet. Their fourth goal arrived after 16 minutes and two seconds, the fastest any team has ever scored four in a Champions League game.
That makes four wins from four for the holders, with 20 goals scored. Arsenal are not going to catch them for first place any time soon, and they do not need to. The target is the top eight, and PSG’s form only matters if the two sides meet in the spring.
Elsewhere, Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford, Inter won 3-0 at Feyenoord and Galatasaray beat Stuttgart 2-0, which kept the German side level with Arsenal on seven points but with an extra game played.
Why a win in Prague settles it
Arsenal kick off against Slavia Prague at 8pm UK time on Wednesday. The Czech side are 32nd of 36, with one point from three games, so this is the kind of fixture the league phase was built to reward.
A win takes Arsenal to 10 points. Only PSG are guaranteed to stay above them, because the clubs on nine who have already played (Barcelona, Villa and Sporting) cannot add to their total this week. The three clubs on nine who play on Wednesday are Liverpool at Fenerbahce, Real Madrid at AEK Athens and Real Betis at Borussia Dortmund. Even if all three win, Arsenal would be no lower than fifth.
A draw is a different story. Eight points would leave Arsenal level with Bayern, whose goal difference of plus seven is three better than Arsenal’s, and below seven clubs already on nine points or more. That would almost certainly mean another night outside the top eight. We covered Arteta’s likely selection in our Arsenal predicted lineup vs Slavia Prague, and with William Saliba fit to travel after his no-surgery recovery, there is no reason to settle for a point.
Dortmund vs Betis is worth watching too
Arsenal’s last four league phase games are Dortmund at home on 24 November, Real Madrid at home on 9 December, Real Betis away on 20 January and Sabah at home on 27 January. Two of those opponents meet each other on Wednesday night in Dortmund.
Betis are on nine points with a 100 per cent record, Dortmund on six. Niko Kovac has brushed off talk of a hard run for his side, saying the teams who face Dortmund have a tough game as well.
From an Arsenal point of view, a draw in Dortmund would suit nicely. It would stop Betis from moving clear and keep Dortmund within range, before both come up against Arteta’s side.
Is ninth anything to worry about?
Not yet. Arsenal’s record of a 1-0 win at Napoli, a 3-0 win over Lille and a 2-2 draw in Munich is as strong as anyone outside Paris, and the 6-2 goal difference shows how hard they are to break down. We looked at why Slavia have struggled for so long in Europe in our Slavia Prague vs Arsenal preview, and nothing from Tuesday changes the feeling that this is a game Arsenal should win.
The real risk is what comes after. Real Madrid at the Emirates in December and a trip to Seville in January are not easy, so points banked now are worth more than points chased later. Three in Prague, and the table takes care of itself. Anything less, and those final four games start to carry real pressure.
