Arsenal have been one of the Champions League’s most frequent participants, but have not been able to take home the famous trophy.

The Gunners have come unstuck against Bayern Munich and PSG since returning to the competition after six seasons away, with Mikel Arteta’s side spending years in the relative wilderness of the Europa League (as well as one year out of Europe altogether) before threatening to go all the way in 2024/25.

From repeated last-16 heartache to final… heartbreak, the Gunners have had quite a journey in the Champions League over the years.

So how does Arsenal’s Champions League record shape up? While they had two European Cup campaigns in 1971 and 1991, they have appeared in 21 of the last 27 editions of the UEFA Champions League ahead of their expected entry in 2025/26.

Arsenal's top 25 Champions League moments

Arsenal have enjoyed some of their greatest European nights in the Champions League.

ByMark Marston May 15, 2025

Here is a complete Arsenal record in Europe’s premier club competition.

Season

Stage reached

Beaten by

1998/99

Group stage

Dynamo Kyiv, Lens, Panathinaikos

1999/00

Group stage

Barcelona, Fiorentina, AIK

2000/01

Quarter-finals

Valencia

2001/02

Second group stage

Leverkusen, Deportivo, Arsenal

2002/03

Second group stage

Valencia, Ajax, Roma

2003/04

Quarter-finals

Chelsea

2004/05

Round of 16

Bayern Munich

2005/06

Final

Barcelona

2006/07

Round of 16

PSV

2007/08

Quarter-finals

Liverpool

2008/09

Semi-finals

Man Utd

2009/10

Quarter-finals

Barcelona

2010/11

Round of 16

Barcelona

2011/12

Round of 16

Milan

2012/13

Round of 16

Bayern Munich

2013/14

Round of 16

Bayern Munich

2014/15

Round of 16

Monaco

2015/16

Round of 16

Barcelona

2016/17

Round of 16

Bayern Munich

2023/24

Quarter-finals

Bayern Munich

2024/25

Semi-finals

PSG

1998/99 First CL campaign ends in group stage disappointment

Arsenal secured their maiden UEFA Champions League berth after winning the Premier League title in Arsene Wenger’s first full season at the club.

Their first two seasons in the competition were marked by the Gunners playing their home games at Wembley in order to play in front of larger crowds, with the national stadium having almost double the amount of seats as Highbury.

Unfortunately, with only group winners guaranteed a quarter-final place, Arsenal were left to rue some late equalisers as they ended up finishing third on the head-to-head rule.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

Group stage

Lens (a)

D 1-1

Vairelles / Overmars

Group stage

Panathinaikos (h)

W 2-1

Adams, Keown / Mauro

Group stage

Dynamo Kyiv (h)

D 1-1

Bergkamp / Rebrov

Group stage

Dynamo Kyiv (a)

L 1-3

Rebrov, Holovko, Shevchenko / Hughes

Group stage

Lens (h)

L 0-1

Debeve

Group stage

Panathinaikos (a)

W 3-1

Sypniewski / Asanovic (og), Anelka, Boa Morte

1999/00 Fiorentina and Barcelona win at Wembley to eliminate Gunners

Arsenal came up against some world superstars such as Gabriel Batistuta and Rivaldo in the first group stage, and while they were far from embarrassed, they fell short by a point to finish third once again.

They found solace in a run to the UEFA Cup final, where they were beaten on penalties by Galatasaray.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

Group stage

Fiorentina (a)

D 0-0

None

Group stage

AIK (h)

W 3-1

Ljungberg, Henry, Suker / Nordin

Group stage

Barcelona (a)

D 1-1

Luis Enrique / Kanu

Group stage

Barcelona (h)

L 2-4

Bergkamp, Overmars / Rivaldo, Luis Enrique, Figo, Cocu

Group stage

Fiorentina (h)

L 0-1

Batistuta

Group stage

AIK (a)

W 3-2

A. Andersson (2) / Overmars (2), Suker

2000/01 Gunners suffer away goals heartbreak Pt. 1

The 2000/01 campaign was the first time the Gunners made it through the group stage – a feat they repeated for the following 16 years.

It was also the one and only time they made it past the second group stage before it was discontinued in 2003.

Qualifying comfortably from the group as winners, they survived a second group stage including would-be familiar foes Bayern Munich, before falling to Valencia on away goals in the quarter-finals despite Ray Parlour’s first-leg screamer.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

Group stage

Sparta Prague (a)

W 1-0

Sylvinho

Group stage

Shakhtar Donetsk (h)

W 3-2

Wiltord, Keown (2) / Bakharev, Vorobey

Group stage

Lazio (h)

W 2-0

Ljungberg (2)

Group stage

Lazio (a)

D 1-1

Pires

Group stage

Sparta Prague

W 4-2

Parlour, Lauren, Dixon, Kanu / Labant, Rosicky

Group stage

Shakhtar Donetsk (a)

L 0-3

Atelkin, Vorobey, Byelik

Second group stage

Spartak Moscow (a)

L 1-4

Marcao (2), Titov, Robson / Sylvinho

Second group stage

Bayern Munich (h)

D 2-2

Henry, Kanu / Tarnat, Scholl

Second group stage

Lyon (a)

W 1-0

Henry

Second group stage

Lyon (h)

D 1-1

Bergkamp / Edmilson

Second group stage

Spartak Moscow (h)

W 1-0

Henry

Second group stage

Bayern Munich (a)

L 0-1

Elber

Quarter-final 1st leg

Valencia (h)

W 2-1

Henry, Parlour / Ayala

Quarter-final 2nd leg

Valencia (a)

L 0-1

Carew

2001/02 Double winners fall short in Europe again

Arsenal won all their home games to squeeze into the second group stage, where although they defeated eventual finalists Bayer Leverkusen, the Gunners were knocked out, with two defeats against then-Spanish giants Deportivo proving crucial.

Wenger’s men continued to impress on the domestic front, with another league and cup double leaving European success as the missing part in the trophy cabinet.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

First group stage

Mallorca (a)

L 0-1

Engonga

First group stage

Schalke (h)

W 3-2

Ljungberg, Henry (2) / Van Hoogdalem, Mpenza

First group stage

Panathinaikos (a)

L 0-1

Karagounis

First group stage

Panathinaikos (h)

W 2-1

Henry (2) / Olisadebe

First group stage

Mallorca (h)

W 3-1

Pires, Bergkamp, Henry / Novo

First group stage

Schalke (a)

L 1-3

Mulder, Vermant, Moller / Wiltord

Second group stage

Deportivo (a)

L 0-2

Makaay, Tristan

Second group stage

Juventus (h)

W 3-1

Ljungberg (2), Henry / Taylor (og)

Second group stage

Bayer Leverkusen (a)

D 1-1

Kirsten / Pires

Second group stage

Bayer Leverkusen (h)

W 4-1

Pires, Henry, Vieira, Bergkamp / Sebescen

Second group stage

Deportivo (h)

L 0-2

Valeron, Naybet

Second group stage

Juventus (a)

L 0-1

Zalayeta

2002/03 Gunners draw four of six second-phase games

Experienced Champions League participants by this point, Arsenal secured a routine second group stage spot after seeing off the likes of Borussia Dortmund and PSV.

While they had their moments in the second group stage – including Thierry Henry’s hat-trick against Roma – failure to convert draws into wins saw Ajax and Valencia pip the Gunners to the two quarter-final berths.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

First group stage

Borussia Dortmund (h)

W 2-0

Bergkamp, Ljungberg

First group stage

PSV (a)

W 4-0

Gilberto, Ljungberg, Henry (2)

First group stage

Auxerre (a)

W 1-0

Gilberto

First group stage

Auxerre (h)

L 1-2

Kanu / Kapo, Fadiga

First group stage

Borussia Dortmund (a)

L 1-2

Rosicky (2) / Henry

First group stage

PSV (h)

D 0-0

None

Second group stage

Roma (a)

W 3-1

Cassano / Henry (3)

Second group stage

Valencia (h)

D 0-0

None

Second group stage

Ajax (h)

D 1-1

Wiltord / De Jong

Second group stage

Ajax (a)

D 0-0

None

Second group stage

Roma (h)

D 1-1

Vieira / Cassano

Second group stage

Valencia (a)

L 1-2

Carew (2) / Henry

2003/04 Wayne Bridge denies Invincibles shot at European glory

With the second group stage now a thing of the past, Arsenal were arguably at their very best and poised to bring the Champions League to N5 for the first time.

A disastrous start to the group stage was remedied by three successive victories which included their 5-1 demolition of Inter at San Siro, before easing past Celta Vigo in the last 16 and being handed a quarter-final tie with London rivals Chelsea.

Despite a rocking first 45, Arsenal were unable to make their home advantage count as the Blues snatched the tie late on, leaving the Gunners to wonder what might have been as FC Porto went all the way.

Round

Opponent

Result

Goalscorers

Group stage

Inter (h)

L 0-3

Cruz, Van der Meyde, Martins

Group stage

Lokomotiv Moscow (a)

D 0-0

None

Group stage

Dynamo Kyiv (a)

L 1-2

Shatskikh, Belkevich / Henry

Group stage

Dynamo Kyiv (h)

W 1-0

Cole

Group stage

Inter (a)

W 5-1

Vieri / Henry (2), Ljungberg, Edu, Pires

Group stage

Lokomotiv Moscow

W 2-0

Pires, Ljungberg

Round of 16 1st leg

Celta Vigo (a)

W 3-2

Edu, Jose Ignacio / Edu (2), Pires

Round of 16 2nd leg

Celta Vigo (h)

W 2-0

Henry (2)

Quarter-final 1st leg

Chelsea (a)

D 1-1

Gudjohnsen / Pires

Quarter-final 2nd leg

Chelsea (h)

L 1-2

Reyes / Lampard, Bridge

2004/05 Arsenal fall to Bayern despite second-leg win

Arsenal topped their group despite winning just two of their six matches, though their reward of meeting Bayern Munich in the last 16 (sound familiar?) saw the Gunners endure another early exit.

After a 3-1 defeat at a snowy Olympiastadion, Arsenal threatened to stage a remarkable comeback in the second leg, but their 1-0 win was not enough to advance to the quarters.

2005/06 Gunners lose in Paris finale amid historic campaign

Arsenal’s closest call to date came in what was their final European campaign at Highbury. They bowed out in style by easing through the group, and enjoyed a magical night at the Santiago Bernabeu before holding Real Madrid to a goalless draw in north London.

Their penultimate night under the Highbury lights in Europe saw Cesc Fabregas and Thierry Henry see off Juventus before another shutout in Turin, while there was more drama in the semi-final.

Kolo Toure scored Highbury’s last-ever Champions League goal as they took a slender advantage to Spain, where a late Jens Lehmann penalty save secured Arsenal a place in the Champions League final.

The final was also fraught with controversy, with Lehmann’s first-half sending-off leaving the Gunners up against it, though they somehow led at half-time through Sol Campbell’s header.

Barcelona’s equaliser had more of a hint of offside about it, before the 10 men’s luck ran out late on, as Juliano Belletti’s winner broke Arsenal hearts.

2006/07 PSV’s Alex nets at both ends to send Gunners out

Arsenal’s fourth-place finish the previous year – their lowest under Wenger – saw the Frenchman’s side in the unfamiliar territory of having to enter the qualifying rounds, where they defeated Dinamo Zagreb over two legs.

The Gunners topped their group once more, but their run came to an abrupt end when Alex nodded in a last-gasp equaliser for PSV in the last 16 to defeat Arsenal on aggregate.

2007/08 Contentious penalty sees Arsenal’s San Siro victory count for nothing

This was another campaign that left the Gunners licking their wounds, as Arsenal were minutes away from the semi-finals before a late, debatable penalty call at Anfield put paid to their efforts to see off English opposition in the Champions League.

Arsenal dazzled at times in the group stage, securing their biggest-ever Champions League win in their 7-0 rout against Slavia Prague. They then dispatched holders Milan with a memorable victory at San Siro before meeting Liverpool in the last eight, where the Reds’ European experience showed.