Arsenal are back in the Champions League for the second year running after a six-year absence, and their squad list for the competition has now been confirmed.
Mikel Arteta’s debut Champions League campaign saw Arsenal knocked out in the quarter-finals, a stage they had not reached since 2010, as they fell to a narrow defeat to Bayern Munich.
Arsenal performed superbly at times throughout the competition last season, with a 6-0 victory over RC Lens in the group stage, as well as a penalty shootout victory against FC Porto in the round of 16 the main highlights.
However, Arsenal will hope to go even further than they did last season, but face the challenge of extra matches, as the new Champions League format comes into play this season.
Instead of a traditional group stage, there is now a Champions League ‘league phase,’ in which each team will play eight unique fixtures with the aim of finishing as high as possible in one combined table.
Arsenal have confirmed their 25-man squad for this stage of the competition, which will run until the end of January before the knockout rounds begin in February 2025.
Arsenal Champions League squad for 2024-25
Arsenal were required to submit a ‘List A’ squad of no more than 25 players, with eight of these 25 required to be homegrown (HG).
Changes can be made if Arsenal do buy or sell players in the January transfer window, but as it stands, the squad for the upcoming Champions League games reads as follows:
Goalkeepers
- David Raya (HG)
- Neto
- Tommy Setford
Defenders
- Ben White (HG)
- Takehiro Tomiyasu
- Jurrien Timber
- William Saliba (HG)
- Gabriel Magalhaes
- Riccardo Calafiori
- Jakub Kiwior
- Kieran Tierney
- Oleksandr Zinchenko
Midfielders
- Thomas Partey
- Jorginho
- Declan Rice (HG)
- Mikel Merino
- Martin Odegaard
Attackers
- Bukayo Saka (HG)
- Gabriel Martinelli (HG)
- Leandro Trossard
- Raheem Sterling (HG)
- Gabriel Jesus
- Kai Havertz
Arsenal have submitted a 23-man squad, with seven homegrown players, and youth players such as Ethan Nwaneri do not need to be registered yet.
Arsenal therefore have room to register one more non-homegrown player if they make an addition in the January transfer window, and one more homegrown player on top of this.
Why have Arsenal not registered Ethan Nwaneri for Champions League squad?
Nwaneri could be set for a significant role in some of the Champions League fixtures, but he does not need to be included in the List-A squad.
Arsenal have registered seven homegrown players who fulfil the ‘locally-trained’ requirements set out by UEFA:
- Club-trained players who were on a club’s books for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21
- Association-trained players who were on another club’s books in the same association for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21
Despite joining from other clubs in 2019, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli fulfil these homegrown requirements as part of the squad registration.
Arsenal are also required to register List-B players before the midnight preceding each matchday in the competition. Players can be registered on List-B if they are:
- Born on or after, January 1 2003 and has been eligible to play for Arsenal for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday, or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for one year or less.
- If aged 16 and have been registered for Arsenal for the previous two years.
There is no limit in how many players Arsenal can register on each List-B, but they will likely change this on a game-by-game basis as the likes of Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ayden Heaven all push for places in the matchday squads.
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