The Champions League’s newly refurbished league phase concludes on Wednesday, and Arsenal travel to Girona hoping to at least secure a top-eight finish and qualify for the round of 16
Arsenal face a trip to Spain and a clash against Girona in what will be their final Champions League group phase match of the campaign.
The Gunners have enjoyed a stellar European journey so far, winning five of their seven fixtures – drawing their opening match against Atalanta and suffering just one loss at the San Siro against Inter.
Mikel Arteta’s men sit pretty in the table for their exploits, with only Barcelona and unbeaten Liverpool above them, and a draw or win against Girona guarantees they’ll bypass a two-legged playoff game and head straight to the round of 16.
Their opponents can do nothing to qualify for the next round, having tallied up just three points, and sit a lowly eighth in La Liga domestically. With the north London side looking to put their opposition to the sword, here’s all you need to know ahead of Wednesday evening’s action.
What channel is Girona vs Arsenal on?
The Gunners’ final league phase match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 4 in the UK. Subscribers can also access the live stream on the go without a TV via discovery+.
TNT can also be purchased via providers BT, EE, Sky and Virgin Media. Customers who do so can tune in via their respective streaming services.
When does Girona vs Arsenal kick off?
Action commences at the Estadi Montilivi at 8pm GMT, or 9pm local time. This applies to every other clash taking place on Wednesday – a matchday that sees every Champions League side play across 18 games – meaning fellow British sides Aston Villa, Manchester City, Celtic and Liverpool will all take to the pitch at the same time.
The Villans’ match against Celtic will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1. City vs Club Brugge will be shown on TNT Sports 2, and Liverpool’s game away to PSV – for which the Reds have decided to leave a host of senior players back home to rest – will air on TNT Sports 3. This means that should Arsenal slip up, they may not know where they’ve finished in the new league format until the full-time whistle sounds at each ground.
Where can Arsenal finish in the league phase table?
The Gunners currently sit in third on 16 points – the same number as Inter, the only team to have beaten them in Europe this term. They’ll have to finish in the top eight to qualify for the round of 16 and skip a two-legged playoff affair, which the sides finishing from ninth to 24th will endure.
However, five teams sit outside the top eight on 13 points – Aston Villa, Monaco, Feyenoord, Lille and Brest – and if Arsenal were to lose, and any of these teams win by a significant margin, Arteta’s side could be ousted from their lofty position.
While this remains unlikely, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Milan, and Atalanta are all in the top eight and snapping at Arsenal’s heels, too, and could throw them further down the pecking order, meaning they could potentially end up with a tougher round of 16 tie. A win and a Barcelona draw or loss could also see the Gunners climb to second in the table.
As mentioned, Girona are 31st with just three points, and with 24th-placed Stuttgart tallying 10, they have no chance of making the top 24 and progressing to the new play-off stage.
The two-legged play-off games take place in mid-February, while the round of 16 is in early March. Reaching that and bypassing the play-offs would allow Arsenal to have more breaks in the coming weeks.
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