Arsenal announce Champions League squad as surprise defender included

The Gunners' second-placed finish in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign means that they will compete in the top tier of European competition for the second year running following last year's impressive run to the quarter-finals.

Having ended their seven-season exile from the Champions League, Arsenal topped their group before seeing off Porto on penalties in the last 16, only to fall to familiar foes Bayern Munich in the quarters.

The 2024-25 Champions League will see the new 36-team league phase format play out for the first time, as Arsenal prepare to battle eight opponents from September to January, including four games at the Emirates and four away from home.

Europa League holders Atalanta BC and French champions Paris Saint-Germain are among Arsenal's opponents, as are Inter Milan, Sporting Lisbon, Shakhtar Donetsk, Monaco, Dinamo Zagreb and Girona.

Kieran Tierney named in Arsenal's Champions League squad

Mikel Arteta has named 23 players to his List A squad, including out-of-favour defender Kieran Tierney, who was widely expected to complete a move away from the Emirates in the summer transfer window.

The Scotland international spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad after falling behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the Arsenal pecking order, as Arteta made the switch to an inverted left-back rather than the overlapping Tierney.

Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu can also play the left-back role for Arsenal, but the English window slammed shut on August 30 with Tierney still in North London.

The 27-year-old - who could still join a club in Turkey before next Friday - is still on the mend from the hamstring injury he picked up at Euro 2024, which may have scuppered his chances of a summer exit, but he is among the 23 players included in List A.

The Gunners' main squad also includes all four of their new senior signings in Raheem Sterling, Neto, Calafiori and Mikel Merino, while Tommy Setford - who joined the club's academy from Ajax in the summer - is the third goalkeeper on the list.

Why are Ethan Nwaneri, Myles-Lewis Skelly not included in Arsenal's Champions League squad?

Two notable young stars were nowhere to be seen on Arsenal's List A, though, as Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri - the Premier League's youngest player of all time - were not included.

The pair have been tipped to enjoy breakthrough seasons under Arteta in 2024-25, but they can instead be included on Arsenal's B list thanks to their age and lengthy association with the club.

Clubs can name an unlimited number of players on their B list, which is reserved for athletes born on or after January 1, 2003 and who have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted two-year period since turning 15, or for three years with a maximum of one loan.

Arsenal's first Champions League game of the new season sees them head to Atalanta on September 19, and their league phase will conclude away to La Liga upstarts Girona on January 29.

The top eight teams in the league phase will go straight through to the knockout rounds, while clubs ranked ninth to 24th will battle for the last eight spots in the playoffs, and those finishing 25th to 36th are eliminated with no drop down to the Europa League.

Arsenal's 2024-25 Champions League squad:

Goalkeepers: David Raya, Neto, Tommy Setford

Defenders: William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, Ben White, Gabriel, Jurrien Timber, Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori

Midfielders: Thomas Partey, Martin Odegaard, Jorginho, Mikel Merino, Declan Rice

Forwards: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling