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Misery, gloom and heartache: Arsenal's long list of Champions League failures revealed
Arsenal have won been crowned champions of England 13 times but are arguably the biggest club never to win the Champions League.
They have only reached one final – losing to Barcelona in 2006 – and three semi-finals in 23 previous campaigns in Europe's premier club competition dating back to 1971-72.
As Mikel Arteta’s side bid to go all the way this season, DAZN News looks back at the Gunners’ litany of agonising near-misses and heartbreaking failures on European football’s biggest stage.
Valencia 1-0 Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, April 2001)
Arsenal suffered heartache in Spain as Valencia sent them crashing out of the Champions League quarter-final on away goals.
John Carew's late header wrecked Arsene Wenger's dream of taking the Gunners into an all-English semi-final against Leeds United.
Arsenal defended stoutly but were once again undermined by their failure to score on foreign soil.
And they paid a heavy price with only 15 minutes left as the giant Norwegian Carew rose to score the crucial goal and make it 2-2 on aggregate before the away goals rule proved decisive.
Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea (Champions League quarter-final, April 2004)
Wayne Bridge's late strike stunned the Gunners at Highbury and sent rivals Chelsea into the semi-finals.
Bridge rifled home a left-foot finish on 87 minutes after being set up by Eidur Gudjohnsen to end Arsenal's unbeaten run against Chelsea.
In a compelling encounter, Jose Antonio Reyes put Arsenal ahead in first-half injury time.
But Frank Lampard drew the Blues level after a Jens Lehmann error before Bridge sealed a famous win – and a 3-2 aggregate victory for Claudio Ranieri’s side.
Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal (Champions League final, May 2006)
Of all the agony that Arsenal have suffered in the Champions League, this was the most painful as Barcelona scored twice late on to win a dramatic Champions League final in Paris.
Sol Campbell's thumping header gave the Gunners a 37th minute lead after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann had been sent off for bringing down Samuel Eto'o.
Thierry Henry missed a crucial chance to give Arsenal a two-goal lead before Eto'o fired home with 14 minutes left.
Henrik Larsson then set up fellow substitute Juliano Belletti four minutes later to condemn Arsene Wenger’s side to a heartbreaking defeat.
Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, April 2008)
The Gunners were undone by Liverpool on a classic European night at Anfield.
Abou Diaby put Arsenal into an early lead but Sami Hyypia headed the hosts level and Fernando Torres looked to have settled it when he fired into the top corner.
A superb Theo Walcott run allowed Emmanuel Adebayor to tap in – but Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot and Ryan Babel added a fourth to seal a 5-3 aggregate victory and set up a semi-final showdown with Chelsea.
Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United (Champions League semi-final, May 2009)
Arsene Wenger's dream of winning a European trophy was destroyed again by a stunning display from Manchester United who were bidding to retain their Champions League crown.
The Gunners' hopes of wiping out a single-goal deficit from the first leg ended inside 11 minutes as United struck twice at the Emirates.
Ji-Sung Park scored before Cristiano Ronaldo blasted in a 40-yard free-kick past Manuel Almunia three minutes later.
It left Arsenal's plans, plus Wenger's bold promise of a "magnificent" performance from his players, in tatters as they were simply unable to cope with the power, pace and energy produced by Sir Alex Ferguson's side who marched to a 4-1 aggregate win.
Barcelona 4-1 Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, April 2010)
Lionel Messi lit up the Nou Camp with a stunning four-goal haul to reduce Arsenal to rubble and maintain Barcelona's bid for back-to-back Champions League titles.
Nicklas Bendtner grabbed an 18th-minute opener to put the Gunners ahead in the tie but Messi quickly replied with a superb drive.
Pedro teed the Argentine up for his second and a cool lob completed his first-half hat-trick in some style before adding a late solo strike for his fourth.
The 6-3 aggregate win for Barca set up an intriguing semi-final meeting with Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan.
Bayern Munich 1-0 Arsenal (Champions League quarter-final, April 2024)
Arsenal made a bitterly disappointing exit from the Champions League as they were beaten at a euphoric Allianz Arena.
Joshua Kimmich's powerful 63rd-minute header from Raphael Guerreiro's cross was enough to send the Germans through to the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate after the two teams had drawn 2-2 in London in the first leg.
It meant more Champions League misery and heartache for the Gunners, this time under Mikel Arteta.
Paris St-Germain 2-1 Arsenal (Champions League semi-final, May 2025)
So near and yet so far – Arsenal's latest Champions League campaign ended in familiar failure on a night of drama in the French capital.
The Gunners' attempts to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit were thwarted by another magnificent display by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Italian, outstanding in the first leg at Emirates Stadium, produced another series of stunning saves to keep Arsenal at bay early on.
PSG then led on the night when Fabian Ruiz fired in a defleced 20-yard shot past Arsenal keeper David Raya.
Donnarumma produced another stunning save to deny Bukayo Saka, before Raya saved Vitinha's poor spot-kick after Myles Lewis-Skelly was penalised for handball.
PSG extended their lead after 72 minutes through Achraf Hakimi before Saka did finally beat Donnarumma four minutes later.
It was too little, too late, though as PSG, won the tie 3-1 on aggregate before going on to hammer Inter Milan 5-0 in the Champions League final in Munich.
Full Champions League fixture list for Matchday Two
Tuesday 30 September
- Atalanta vs Club Brugge
- Kairat vs Real Madrid
- Atletico Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt
- Bodø / Glimt vs Tottenham Hotspur
- Chelsea vs Benfica
- Galatasaray vs Liverpool
- Inter Milan vs Slavia Prague
- Marseille vs Ajax
- Pafos vs Bayern Munich
Wednesday 1 October
- Qarabağ vs Copenhagen
- Union Saint-Gilloise vs Newcastle United
- Arsenal vs Olympiakos
- Barcelona vs PSG
- Bayer Leverkusen vs PSV
- Borussia Dortmund vs Athletic Club
- Monaco vs Manchester City
- Napoli vs Sporting CP
- Villarreal vs Juventus
How to watch the Champions League in the U.S. on DAZN
Soccer fans in the US can watch selected Champions League as part of their DAZN subscription package, in Spanish language.
For each match week, DAZN will have exclusive coverage of the top three pick games, including the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, and PSG, in Spanish. Click here to see which games are available on DAZN .
An annual subscription costs $19.99 per month for 12 months and also provides access to 185 fight nights a year across boxing, MMA, PFL, BKFC, Glory and much more.
CBS has coverage of every Champions League match in English language this season. You can get more details and subscribe to CBS's Champions League coverage here.
Fans can watch extra Champions League games in Spanish on ViX. A selection of those matches are also available on UNIMÁS and TUDN.
How to watch the Champions League in New Zealand on DAZN
Every Champions League game during the 2025-26 season is streamed in high-definition and comes as part of a DAZN subscription.
An annual subscription costs $14.99 per month for 12 months and also provides access to 185 fight nights a year across boxing, MMA, PFL, BKFC, Glory and much more.
How to watch the Champions League in Canada on DAZN
Watch every game of the Champions League this season in Canada with a DAZN subscription.
There are three subscription options, offering differing selections of sports in each. Access to every Champions League match is included in all three package offerings, ranging from $29.99 to $44.99 per month (for 12 months)
