After a six-year absence, Arsenal is back in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season, and their Group B draw appears to offer a relatively favorable route. Under the guidance of manager Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal squad is grouped with Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven, and Lens.
Sevilla, famous for their Europa League triumphs, hold a seeded position in Pot 1 due to their most recent title win over Roma. However, it’s worth noting that their 12th-place finish in La Liga raises questions about their Champions League form. On the other hand, both PSV and Lens failed to secure their domestic league titles. PSV managed to reach the group stage by comfortably defeating Rangers in the qualifiers, but their overall threat to Arsenal seems limited, despite a surprising 2-0 victory over the Gunners in the Europa League group stage last October.
Lens, despite a narrow miss in the Ligue 1 title race last season, finds itself grappling with the challenge of replacing their top scorer from the previous campaign, Loïs Openda, who departed for RB Leipzig during the summer transfer window.
Considering these circumstances, if Arsenal can perform to their full potential, they are in a strong position to assert dominance in Group B and secure a place among the seeded teams for the round of 16 in the later stages of the competition.
Champions League Group B odds to win (via Casino Alpha)
Group B
Arsenal -200
Sevilla +450
PSV Eindhoven +600
Lens +700
Predicted order of finish
1-Arsenal
2- PSV
3-Sevilla
4-Lens
Full Champions League 2023/24 group stage schedule
(Group B matches in bold)
Matchday 1
19 September
AC Milan vs Newcastle (12:45)
Young Boys vs Leipzig (12:45)
Feyenoord vs Celtic (3:00)
Lazio vs Atlético de Madrid (3:00)
Paris vs Dortmund (3:00)
Man City vs Crvena Zvezda (3:00)
Barcelona vs Antwerp (3:00)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Porto (3:00)
20 September
Galatasaray vs Copenhagen (12:45)
Real Madrid vs Union Berlin (12:45)
Bayern vs Man United (3:00)
Sevilla vs Lens (3:00)
Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven (3:00)
Braga vs Napoli (3:00)
Benfica vs Salzburg (3:00)
Real Sociedad vs Inter (3:00)
Matchday 2
3 October
Union Berlin vs Braga (12:45)
Salzburg vs Real Sociedad (12:45)
Man United vs Galatasaray (3:00)
Copenhagen vs Bayern (3:00)
Lens vs Arsenal (3:00)
PSV Eindhoven vs Sevilla (3:00)
Napoli vs Real Madrid (3:00)
Inter vs Benfica (3:00)
4 October
Atlético de Madrid vs Feyenoord (12:45)
Antwerp vs Shakhtar Donetsk (12:45)
Celtic vs Lazio (3:00)
Dortmund vs Milan (3:00)
Newcastle vs Paris (3:00)
Leipzig vs Man City (3:00)
Crvena Zvezda vs Young Boys (3:00)
Porto vs Barcelona (3:00)
Matchday 3
24 October
Galatasaray vs Bayern (12:45)
Inter vs Salzburg (12:45)
Man United vs Copenhagen (3:00)
Sevilla vs Arsenal (3:00)
Lens vs PSV Eindhoven (3:00)
Braga vs Real Madrid (3:00)
Union Berlin vs Napoli (3:00)
Benfica vs Real Sociedad (3:00)
25 October
Feyenoord vs Lazio (12:45)
Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk (12:45)
Celtic vs Atlético de Madrid (3:00)
Paris vs Milan (3:00)
Newcastle vs Dortmund (3:00)
Leipzig vs Crvena Zvezda (3:00)
Young Boys vs Man City (3:00)
Antwerp vs Porto (3:00)
Matchday 4
7 November
Dortmund vs Newcastle (12:45)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Barcelona (12:45)
Atlético de Madrid vs Celtic (3:00)
Lazio vs Feyenoord (3:00)
Milan vs Paris (3:00)
Man City vs Young Boys (3:00)
Crvena Zvezda vs Leipzig (3:00)
Porto vs Royal Antwerp (3:00)
8 November
Napoli vs Union Berlin (12:45)
Real Sociedad vs Benfica (12:45)
Bayern vs Galatasaray (3:00)
Copenhagen vs Man United (3:00)
Arsenal vs Sevilla (3:00)
PSV Eindhoven vs Lens (3:00)
Real Madrid vs Braga (3:00)
Salzburg vs Inter (3:00)
Matchday 5
28 November
Lazio vs Celtic (12:45)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Antwerp (12:45)
Feyenoord vs Atlético de Madrid (3:00)
Paris vs Newcastle (3:00)
Milan vs Dortmund (3:00)
Man City vs Leipzig (3:00)
Young Boys vs Crvena Zvezda (3:00)
Barcelona vs Porto (3:00)
29 November
Galatasaray vs Man United (12:45)
Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven (12:45)
Bayern vs Copenhagen (3:00)
Arsenal vs Lens (3:00)
Real Madrid vs Napoli (3:00)
Braga vs Union Berlin (3:00)
Benfica vs Inter (3:00)
Real Sociedad vs Salzburg (3:00)
Matchday 6
12 December
Lens vs Sevilla (12:45)
PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal (12:45)
Man United vs Bayern (3:00)
Copenhagen vs Galatasaray (3:00)
Napoli vs Braga (3:00)
Union Berlin vs Real Madrid (3:00)
Inter vs Real Sociedad (3:00)
Salzburg vs Benfica (3:00)
13 December
Leipzig vs Young Boys (12:45)
Crvena Zvezda vs Man City (12:45)
Atlético de Madrid vs Lazio (3:00)
Celtic vs Feyenoord (3:00)
Dortmund vs Paris (3:00)
Newcastle vs Milan (3:00)
Porto vs Shakhtar Donetsk (3:00)
Antwerp vs Barcelona (3:00)
