Arsenal Football Club is regarded as one of the sport’s grandest institutions for a reason.
The Gunners’ rich history accounts for 30 pieces of major silverware, including 13 league titles, and the presence of thinkers who aided the game’s advancement like very few of their contemporaries.
Herbert Chapman’s W-M revolutionised the English footballing sphere in the 1920s, while Arsene Wenger’s cultured approach off the field brought about staggering improvements in quality not only to the Gunners dressing room, but to the booming Premier League as a whole.
This is a behemoth, one of the biggest clubs in the world, but incessant underperformance on the grandest stage means Arsenal, in terms of achievements, can barely sit at the same table of some of Europe’s Goliaths.
Sure, their litany of domestic honours remain impressive, but the club’s lack of continental success is pretty staggering considering the teams they’ve been able to produce. The Champions League, formerly the European Cup, has long been regarded as the crème de la crème of club football, and five English clubs, have been able to climb the mountain. Arsenal are not one of them.
Just in case you couldn’t gauge the answer from the intro, it’s no.
2023/24 is Arsenal’s 22nd season in the Champions League, with the club winning over half of their 208 matches in the competition to date.
The Gunners have flirted with continental success, especially under Arsene Wenger, but only once did they reach the competition’s showpiece event. In 2006, Wenger’s Arsenal were cruelly beaten 2-1 by Barcelona having taken the lead. Jens Lehmann was sent off in Paris as Barca overturned the deficit in the second half to lift the trophy.
Otherwise, Arsenal haven’t gotten particularly close to winning it all. They were beaten by domestic rivals Manchester United in the 2008/09 semi-finals, while the Invincibles squad of 2003/04 was stunned by an inferior Chelsea in the last eight. Between 2011 and 2017, Wenger’s Gunners suffered seven consecutive round of 16 eliminations.
Arsenal’s Champions League campaigns
|
Season |
Finish |
|---|---|
|
1971/72 |
Quarter-finals |
|
1991/92 |
Second round |
|
1998/99 |
Group stage |
|
1999/00 |
Group stage |
|
2000/01 |
Quarter-finals |
|
2001/02 |
Second group stage |
|
2002/03 |
Second group stage |
|
2003/04 |
Quarter-finals |
|
2004/05 |
Last 16 |
|
2005/06 |
Runners-up |
|
2006/07 |
Last 16 |
|
2007/08 |
Quarter-finals |
|
2008/09 |
Semi-finals |
|
2009/10 |
Quarter-finals |
|
2010/11 |
Last 16 |
|
2011/12 |
Last 16 |
|
2012/13 |
Last 16 |
|
2013/14 |
Last 16 |
|
2014/15 |
Last 16 |
|
2015/16 |
Last 16 |
|
2016/17 |
Last 16 |
|
2023/24 |
Last 16* |
Arsenal celebrate victory against Parma in the European Cup Winners Cup Final, 1994. pic.twitter.com/74gbzMrEL5
— Throwback Arsenal (@ThrowbackAFC) August 23, 2020
In truth, Arsenal’s European history is embarrassing full stop for a club of its magnitude.
They have, however, secured two pieces of continental silverware in the form of the 1969/70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the 1993/94 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Arsenal beat out Sporting CP, Rouen, Dinamo Bacau, Johan Cruyff’s Ajax, and Anderlecht to win the Fairs Cup in 1970. 24 years later, Alan Smith scored the game’s only goal as the Gunners beat a Parma side containing the likes of Gianfranco Zola, Faustino Asprilla, and Tomas Brolin in the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup final.
The north London club then lost in the final of the same competition the following season to Real Zaragoza; a contest won by Nayim’s stupendous effort from halfway. Arsenal have also been beaten finalists in the UEFA Cup/Europa League on two occasions in 2000 and 2019.
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