UEFA Champions League draw - the 32 teams

Arsenal are among the top seeds for this evening's UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw.

The draw takes place in Monaco at 5.00pm (UK time). The 32 clubs who are featured in the draw are split into four pots of eight based on their Uefa co-efficient scores. These are based on performance in European competitions over the last five years.
 
Arsenal are ranked as one of the top seeds along with the following sides:

• AC Milan
• Barcelona
• Bayern Munich
• Chelsea
• Inter Milan
• Manchester United
• Olympique Lyonnais

A total of eight groups of four teams will be drawn with one side from each seeding pot in each group. No side can be drawn against another from the same pot, nor can they play a team from their home country.
 
Arsenal will be drawn against one team from each of the following pots;

POT TWO 

Werder Bremen
Stadium: Weserstadion (42,358)
Werder Bremen qualified for the Champions League by beating Sampdoria in their play-off match. The German outfit finished third in the Bundesliga last season. Their coach Thomas Schaat spent his entire playing career with the club and coached their U-17, U-19 and Reserve teams before becoming manager in 1999.

Real Madrid
Stadium: Bernabeu (80,354)
Real Madrid have won a record nine European Cups but six consecutive defeats in the round of 16 means they are in the second pot of seeds for the Group Stage draw. Their manager Jose Mourinho won the competition with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan last season.

Roma
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico (72,700)
Roma qualified directly for the Group Stage after finishing second in Serie A last season, two points behind Inter Milan. Arsenal last played Roma in 2009 when the Gunners' progressed to the Quarter-Finals after beating the Italians on penalties.

Shakhtar Donetsk
Stadium: Donbass Arena (51,504)
Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk qualified directly for the Group Stage and are already seven games into their domestic league season. Former Arsenal striker Eduardo has scored twice in three appearances for Shakhtar.

Benfica
Stadium: Stadium of Light (65,647)
Portuguese champions Benfica won back-to-back European Cups in 1961 and '62. They claimed their 32nd domestic league title last season but haven't competed in the Champions League since being knocked out in the 2007 Group Stage.

Valencia
Stadium: Mestalla (55,000)
Finalists in 2001, Valencia didn't qualify for the last two Champions League campaigns. They have won the Spanish league six times, most recently in 2004 when they also won the UEFA Cup.

Marseille
Stadium: Stade Velodrome (60,031)
Marseille qualified directly for this season's Group Stage as French champions. Their only European Cup success came in 1993.

Panathinaikos
Stadium: Olympic Stadium (72,000)
As Greek champions Panathinaikos qualified directly for the Group Stage of this season's Champions League. They reached the last 16 in 2008/09 but lost their play-off last season.

POT THREE
Note: Only seven teams are listed for pot three as Arsenal cannot face the eighth team, Tottenham Hotspur.

Rangers
Stadium: Ibrox (51,082)
Rangers qualified for the Champions League by winning the Scottish Premier League last season. Arsenal beat them 3-0 in last summer's Emirates Cup.

Ajax
Stadium: Amsterdam Arena (51,715)
Ajax came second in the Dutch Eredivisie last season and qualified for the Group stage by overcoming Dynamo Kyiv in the Play-Offs. They got an away goal in a 1-1 draw in the first leg and won their home match 2-1.

Schalke 04
Stadium: Veltins-Arena (61,482)
German side Schalke qualified for the Group Stage by coming second in the Bundesliga last season. They signed Raul from Real Madrid over the summer.

FC Basel
Stadium: St Jakob Park (38.512)
Swiss champions Basel beat FC Sheriff 4-0 on aggregate in their play-off match to earn a place in the Group Stage.

Sporting Braga
Stadium: AXA Stadium (30,154)
Sporting Braga came second in the Portuguese Liga last season and defeated Sevilla 5-3 on aggregate in their play-off match to reach the Group Stage.

FC Copenhagen
Stadium: Parken (38,750)
Danish champions Copenhagen defeated Rosenborg on away goals in their play-off match to reach the Champions League Group Stage for the first time in four years.

Spartak Moscow
Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium (78,360)
As Russian champions, Spartak Moscow have qualified for the Champions League Group Stage for the first time since the 2006/07 season. They are currently seventh in the Russian Premier League with 26 points from 17 games.

POT FOUR

Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Stadium: Bloomfield Stadium (17,000)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv will be competing in the Champions League Group Stage for the first time. They defeated Salzburg 4-3 on aggregate in their play-off match. Their campaign started in the second qualifying round.

FC Twente
Stadium: Grolsch Fortress (24,000)
This will be the first time FC Twente have competed in the Champions League Group Stage. In 2008 Arsenal defeated the Dutch outfit 6-0 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the competition.

Rubin Kazan
Stadium: Central Stadium (30,133)
Rubin Kazan qualified for the Group Stages as 2009 Russian champions. They are currently second in the Russian Premier League having collected 36 points from their first 18 games.

Auxerre
Stadium: Stade de l'Abbe-Deschamps (24,493)
Auxerre overcame a first-leg deficit to defeat Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 on aggregate in their play-off match. The French outfit finished third in Ligue Un last season.

CFR Cluj
Stadium: Dr. Constantin Rădulescu Stadium (23,363)
CFR Cluj qualified directly for the Group Stage as Romanian champions. Their last appearance in the Champions League was two seasons ago.

Partizan Belgrade
Stadium: Partizan Stadium (32,710)
Serbian champions Partizan Belgrade qualified for the Group Stage after defeating Anderlecht on penalties in their play-off. Both legs had ended 2-2. It is their first appearance in the Champions League for seven years.

Zilina
Stadium: Pod Dubnom Stadium (11,181)
Zilina are the current Slovakian champions. This will be the first time they compete in the Champions League Group Stage. They beat Sparta Prague 3-0 on aggregate in their play-off match.

Bursaspor
Stadium: Bursa Atatürk Stadium (18, 587)
The lowest-ranked team in the competition based on UEFA coefficients, Bursaspor qualified for the Group Stage as Turkish champions. This season is the first time they have played in the Champions League.

Arsenal.com will bring you details of who the Gunners have been drawn against as soon as the draw is made.

[Thursday, August 26, 2010]

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