Arsenal fans can now start making their plans for the new season following the release of the 2025/26 Premier League schedule. Mikel Arteta and his players are on the road first as they travel to Manchester United on Sunday, August 17.
The Gunners do have a very tricky start to the new campaign as they also face Championship winners Leeds United, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle United in their first six games. Certainly a tough period for Arsenal, it does give them a huge opportunity to lay down a marker, though, as they bid to become Premier League champions.
After going so close in the Premier League in recent seasons, Arteta needs to find a way of his team getting over the final hurdle to get their hands on some much-needed silverware. It’s not just in the Premier League where they will be targeting success as they will be competing on four fronts with the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup also on their radar.
There was to be Champions League heartache for the club last season after losing to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain at the semi-final stage. Following the change of format to UEFA’s club competitions that took place at the start of last season, the Champions League will once again be operating with a 36-team league table before the knockout round commences in February 2026.
Arsenal will face eight games as part of the league phase, with the draw taking place on Thursday, August 28. They will be paired with two teams from each of the four pots in August’s draw, thus determining their four home and four away fixtures.
As is always the case when it comes to midweek European games, all clubs involved in the competition will be hoping for kind fixtures before and after they are in European action. That is certainly not the case for Arsenal’s first European fixture of the season as they face Nottingham Forest and Manchester City at home either side of their Champions League opener.
The north London club will certainly be happier with their following three games directly after Champions League football. West Ham at home comes after matchday two, Crystal Palace at home after matchday three and Sunderland away after matchday four.
Things do get tricky come matchday five, however, as the first North London Derby of the season, which takes place at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, November 22, is directly before their Champions League game. Arsenal will then return from their European showdown with another London derby at Chelsea in the schedule.
Arsenal’s final Champions League game of 2025 in early December comes between an away match at Aston Villa and home match against Wolves. The new competition format means the final two league phase games take place at the end of January over successive weeks.
Champions League matchday seven is after an away game at Nottingham Forest and before a home match against Manchester United for Arsenal. They will then return to Premier League action with an away day at Leeds United after their final Champions League league phase match, which is in the schedule for Wednesday, January 28.
Arteta will be happy that his team are at home five times after their Champions League matches considering their impressive record at the Emirates Stadium last term. However, they do have some big games in there that could be tough to deal with directly after European football.
Here are who Arsenal face before and after their eight Champions League league phase dates:
Champions League matchday 1
13/09/2025 – Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
Matchday 1 – 16-18 September
20/09/2025 – Arsenal vs Manchester City
Champions League matchday 2
27/09/2025 – Newcastle United vs Arsenal
Matchday 2 – 30 September – 1 October
04/10/2025 – Arsenal vs West Ham United
Champions League matchday 3
18/10/2025 – Fulham vs Arsenal
Matchday 3 – 21-22 October
25/10/2025 – Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
Champions League matchday 4
01/11/2025 – Burnley vs Arsenal
Matchday 4 – 4-5 November
08/11/2025 – Sunderland vs Arsenal
Champions League matchday 5
22/11/2025 – Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur
Matchday 5 – 25-26 November
29/11/2025 – Chelsea vs Arsenal
Champions League matchday 6
06/12/2025 – Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Matchday 6 – 9-10 December
13/12/2025 – Arsenal vs Wolverhampton
Champions League matchday 7
17/01/2026 – Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal
Matchday 7 – 20-21 January
24/01/2026 – Arsenal vs Manchester United
Champions League matchday 8
24/01/2026 – Arsenal vs Manchester United
Matchday 8 – 28 January
31/01/2026 – Leeds United vs Arsenal
