Arsenal receives great news from the new Champions League regulations

Arsenal has achieved a perfect winning record in the 2025/26 Champions League league phase, topping their group and gaining major advantages from UEFA’s updated regulations, as Premier League teams collectively advance.

In the early hours of Thursday (January 29), Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal completed the 2025/26 Champions League league phase with a victory over Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan), finishing the group stage with 8 wins out of 8 matches and securing first place with a flawless record.

Just 2 minutes in, Viktor Gyokeres scored for the home side, but only five minutes later, Kairat Almaty equalized through a successful penalty by Jorginho. At the 15th minute, Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead again, before Gabriel Martinelli extended the lead to 3-1 at the 35th minute. In injury time of the second half, Ricardinho scored to reduce the deficit to 2-3 for the visitors, but it was not enough to stop Arsenal from claiming all 3 points.

In other matches, the remaining representatives of the Premier League such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Tottenham also secured direct qualification to the round of 16. Meanwhile, Newcastle’s 1-1 draw at PSG means they can only participate in the play-offs for a chance to advance.

Although 5 out of 6 English teams finished the league phase in the top 8 to earn direct spots in the round of 16, not all have fully benefited from UEFA’s new rule changes.

In the 2024/25 season, home or away status for the first leg of knockout rounds was decided by a random draw. This meant even higher-ranked teams could be forced to play the first leg at home instead of away, including in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.

Arsenal was one of the teams affected by this rule. Despite finishing third in the league phase last season, the “Gunners” had to host Real Madrid at Emirates in the quarter-final first leg, while the Spanish side had just eliminated Manchester City in the play-offs.

This season, UEFA has added incentives for the top 4 teams in the 36-team league phase. Accordingly, the four leaders—Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Tottenham—are guaranteed to play the second leg at home in the round of 16 and quarter-finals if they advance.

Notably, the top two teams, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, also retain this advantage in the semi-finals. This means if Arsenal reaches the 2025/26 Champions League final in Budapest (Hungary) on May 30, they will play all three knockout second legs at Emirates, enjoying home support—a factor often regarded as a significant advantage.

Additionally, UEFA clearly states: “If a seeded team is eliminated at any stage, the team that defeats them will take over their seed position in the next round.” This promises to create notable shifts throughout this season’s Champions League journey.