Arsenal will be in Pot 2 for the Champions League draw next season, barring a late twist in the case of Juventus’ point deduction.

On Sunday, AC Milan beat Juventus 1-0 and Rayo Vallecano overcame Villarreal 2-1 to ensure that Juventus and Villarreal can’t achieve top-four finishes this season – assuming Juventus’ points deduction stands.

Juventus were handed a 10-point deduction by the FIGC Court of Appeal last week, which is currently the difference between fourth and seventh for them.

The Serie A club have confirmed they will “evaluate a possible appeal to the Guarantee Board at CONI”, but at this point, it looks like the punishment is set to stand.

If that’s the case, Arsenal’s position as a Pot-2 club is now confirmed.

The Champions League group stage draw places teams in four pots, with Pot 1 for various league champions and the 2022/23 European trophy winners, and the rest of the pots determined by each club’s UEFA coefficient.

Arsenal would have been in Pot 3 before Juventus’ points deduction, as their coefficient has taken a hit given recent seasons without Europe, or with early Europa League exits.

That would have meant that when the draw took place, the Gunners would draw a team from Pot 1 and from Pot 2, which contain most of the best teams in Europe.

As it stands, Pot 2 is set to include Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, and FC Porto.

Arsenal sneaking into Pot 2 themselves means they will avoid facing any of the other Pot 2 teams, drawing one team from Pots 1, 3, and 4 instead.

As Juventus have dropped out of the Champions League qualifying places, they’ll be replaced by AC Milan.

Whilst Juventus have a better coefficient score than Arsenal, Milan don’t, and they’ll be in Pot 3.

This is the last time the pot system will matter, as changes to the Champions League format are coming in 2024/25.