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Roll up, roll up, the Champions League is back at the Emirates Stadium once more. For the first time this decade there will be top tier European football played by the club and excitement could hardly be any bigger.
With an unbeaten start to the Premier League season and a continuation of the optimism that was bubbling over during most of last year, Mikel Arteta's men could hardly be better placed to attack the competition. It is now six years since their last game in Europe's premier club tournament, seven since they last started a season with in on the agenda and 66 months in between.
It's not time to avenge back to back 5-1 defeats to Bayern Munich of a record that has seen the Gunners win just one knockout tie since 2010, only claiming four victories across 16 matches in that time, but it's about writing a new chapter. This fearless, young and hugely talented Arsenal team is about to go toe-to-toe with the best there are.
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With a favourable group stage ahead of them and a first game to look forward to on Wednesday night against Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven, Arteta's men are in a good spot to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Now, through a supercomputer's predictions, we can see where Arsenal are expected to get to.
According to analysis from Best Gambling Sites the Gunners have a 93.7% chance of getting through their group as winners and just a 0.5% chance of not finishing in the top two. That would confirm their passage into the knockouts alongside the other predicted group winners Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.
The rest of the group is predicted to be Sevilla in second with PSV third and Lens in fourth, not even earning a spot in the Europa League. Some of the other notable group stage findings are that Borussia Dortmund are predicted not to make it out of their group - just a 19% chance, and are seen as more likely to be last than third.
AC Milan, pitted in the group of death with Newcastle and PSG, are down as the third most likely team to qualify there whilst Newcastle are slender favourites to follow the French champions through to the last-16. It is at this stage that they are thought to meet their match and exit the competition.
Manchester United are strong contenders to reach the round of 16 but not expected to go any further. Arsenal, on the other hand, have a 91.4% chance of being quarter-finalists and luckily for any nervous fans have nearly a 100% chance of being in the knockouts either way.
Although the supercomputer cannot predict what the draw will be for the tournament Arsenal are still granted a 37.9% chance of being in the semi-finals. That's the fifth highest according to the numbers with City, Bayern, Real Madrid, and PSG ahead. Atletico Madrid at 35.8% are the next most.
It is at this stage that Arsenal are expected to lose. They have just a 21.9% chance, it is calculated, of being finalists. Many would surely take those odds right now given their long-awaited return. City though, with a 61.1% chance of winning it again, are overwhelming favourites compared to Bayern (13.2%), Real Madrid (10.3%) and Arsenal (5.3%).
They may well be extremely favourable to the Gunners but it does represent just how much of a leap they have taken in the past 18 months. To be given a fighting chance of making the final is certainly a nice spot to be in.
Order your copy of the Gunners in Europe TODAY
Arsenal have returned to the Champions League after a six year absence - and confidence is high Mikel Arteta’s men can make a genuine run to the final at Wembley.
Our special preview of the Gunners’ 2023/24 Champions League campaign provides the ultimate guide to the tournament.
It costs just £3 and is on sale for advance order* on the online shop NOW and in retail outlets from September 17. Just click here to order your copy today.
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