Arsenal are waiting to see their potential road to the Champions League final.
The Gunners were perfect in the league phase of the competition, winning all eight of their games and finishing on top of the table.
Arsenal knew that their next opponents would be one of four clubs – Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta or Olympiacos.
Leverkusen got past the Greek giants in the playoff round, and Atalanta did the same against Dortmund. Arsenal will now take on one of those two clubs, and the draw on Friday will give an idea about who the Gunners could face in the further rounds as well.
Tell us who you want Arsenal to draw in the round of 16 and WHY
Arsenal’s best-case Champions League route to the final
It is clear now that Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta in the round of 16 of the Champions League.
The German side are currently sixth in the Bundesliga table, while La Dea are seventh in the Serie A.
The ideal scenario would be to take on the lower-placed side, but we feel a trip to the BayArena would be a lot less daunting than a game in Bergamo.
If Arsenal get past the round of 16, their best-case scenario would see them face one of Sporting CP or Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-finals. The Gunners will back themselves against either side.
Then, should they get to the semis, Arsenal have a chance of facing Tottenham Hotspur in two more North London Derbies, where they will have the opportunity to book their place in the final of this season’s Champions League.
For that to happen, though, the two teams will have to be drawn on the same side of the bracket, and Spurs will have to win their round of 16 and quarter-final games.
If the Premier League leaders get lucky and things go exactly as above, they will be favourites to reach the final. The best-case scenario at that point would be to face Galatasaray.
So, to recap, if things fall into place for Arsenal, they will face Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16, Bodo/Glimt in the quarter-final, Tottenham in the semi-final, and Galatasaray in the final.
If that happens, we think Mikel Arteta’s side would win the Champions League comfortably.
Aside from Thierry Henry, who is the best Champions League winner to play for Arsenal? Comment below!
Arsenal’s worst-case scenario in the Champions League draw
The best-case scenario above is what every Arsenal fan will dream of, but their worst-case scenario is frightening.
If the Gunners don’t get the luck of the draw, their potential run to the final could involve games against some of the biggest teams in the world.
The round of 16 clash will be against Atalanta on this side of the draw, with a possible quarter-final against one of Manchester City or Real Madrid.
Then, in the semi-finals, Arsenal could potentially face one of Liverpool, Barcelona or defending champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The worst-possible opponent in the final in this scenario would be Bayern Munich.
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