The Arsenal u19s have learned their League Phase draw for the UEFA Youth League, including a tantalising final game at home to Real Madrid.
The recent Champions League draw also confirmed Arsenal’s u19 opponents in the UEFA Youth League, with the young Gunners to face six of the same eight teams as the senior side.
The first six fixtures of the Champions League’s League Phase are mirrored with the UEFA Youth League, with the u19s facing the same opponents. The only difference is the final two games, which aren’t included on the Youth League’s shorter League Phase calendar.
The result is a tricky run of six matches, with Arsenal’s last two first-team games arguably coming against two of their easier opponents in Real Betis and Sabah.
The big Pot 1 matches against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich remain on the schedule along with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Napoli. In fact, the Arsenal u19s will conclude their League Phase with that big home game against Real Madrid.
All of the games are played on the same days as the first-team matches, but in the early afternoon. More specifically, all of the games will be played at 1pm, except the Bayern game, which will be at 3pm.
If Arsenal want to progress to the knockout stages, they’ll need to finish in the top 22 teams of the 36-team league. Having failed to do so in the last two seasons, this is the Gunners’ chance to make the knockouts for the first time in the new format.
After the League Phase, there will be a Round of 32, with 10 teams from the ‘Domestic Champions’ path joining the top-22 League Phase clubs.
Unsurprisingly, the ‘Domestic Champions’ path is comprised of the youth champions of each UEFA member’s domestic league. They all play three knockout rounds to try and reach the last-32.
The knockouts are then a one-legged knockout competition, with a final-four tournament in a single location for the semi-finals and final.
Arsenal UEFA Youth League fixtures
- September 9th, 13:00 – Napoli vs Arsenal
- October 13th, 13:00 – Arsenal vs Lille
- October 21st, 15:00 – Bayern vs Arsenal
- November 4th, 13:00 – Slavia Praha vs Arsenal
- November 24th, 13:00 – Arsenal vs Dortmund
- December 9th, 13:00 – Arsenal vs Real Madrid
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