Red Alert! Arsenal Seizes Lead in UEFA Champions League Final!

What is Arsenal's record in UEFA Champions League knockouts? Mikel Arteta's Gunners aiming for strong run originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Arsenal reached the semifinals of the Champions League in 2025 for the first time in 14 years. A spectacular 5-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid set them up for a showdown with Paris Saint-Germain in the last four. The French side went on to win 3-1 over the two legs en route to being crowned champions of Europe for the first time.

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise very strong campaign for the Gunners. They scored seven times in a European away game for the first time since 1993 in a demolition of PSV in the Round of 16 first leg. They then dominated Europe's most decorated side in Real Madrid across both quarterfinal legs, putting the rest of the continent on notice.

In 2026, they begin their knockout campaign against Bayer Leverkusen after topping the league-phase standings. Could this be their year to go all the way? The Sporting News tells the story of a profoundly frustrating run towards the end of Arsene Wenger's celebrated tenure, and how Mikel Arteta looks close to working some magic to reverse the club's fortunes.