Mikel Arteta leaves injured Arsenal star out of Champions League squad as history awaits

Mikel Arteta has named his squad for Arsenal’s Champions League campaign, using just 23 of the 25 available player slots on the Gunners’ ‘A’ list for the league phase

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has left Gabriel Jesus out of the Gunners’ squad for the Champions League’s league phase. The Brazilian is still on the comeback trail after suffering an ACL injury in January as Arteta’s team lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup.

The Gunners have named 23 players in their A List, from a maximum of 25. The number of eligible slots comes down from the maximum of 25 depending on how many locally trained players are included.

Some academy talents, including Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, are eligible for the B List by virtue of having been born in 2004 or later and having been eligible to play for Arsenal for an uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday. However, Max Dowman – who only turned 15 last December, has been named on the A List.

The 23-man A List also includes Arsenal’s eight senior summer signings: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera, Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard, Noni Madueke, Ebere Eze and Viktor Gyokeres. There’s also a spot for young keeper Tommy Setford, who joined the Gunners from Ajax in 2024.

If Arsenal make it through to the knockout stages, they will be able to make tweaks to their squad in the new year. Dowman will be able to move to the B List after his 16th birthday, freeing up a spot on the A List for Jesus if he is fit to return.

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Dowman could set the record for the youngest ever player to take part in the Champions League proper if he gets onto the pitch in the competition before the turn of the year. The current record is held by former Borussia Dortmund starlet Youssoufa Moukoko, who was 16 years and 18 days old when he played for the German side against Zenit St Petersburg in 2020.

Teenage sensation Dowman has already become the Premier League’s second youngest ever player, beaten only by Nwaneri. He will turn 16 on New Year’s Eve, meaning a single minute in any of Arsenal’s first six league phase games will see him break Moukoko’s record.

Arsenal will kick off their European campaign away to Athletic Bilbao on September 16, while their first home game comes 15 days later against Olympiacos. They will then face Atletico Madrid, Slavia Prague, Bayern Munich and Club Brugge before the turn of the year, followed by meetings with Inter Milan and Kairat Almaty in January.

Last season, Arteta’s team finished third in the league phase, with Inter the only team to beat them across eight matches. They then came through knockout ties against PSV EIndhoven and Real Madrid before coming up short against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain in the semis.

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