Arsenal completed a perfect 2025/26 UEFA Champions League campaign by beating Kairat Almaty 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
With top spot already all but assured, manager Mikel Arteta made 11 changes to his starting XI for the visit of Kazakhstan’s top club team, with the likes of David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes and Bukayo Saka all given the night off.
Despite these big changes, the Gunners took the lead within two minutes thanks to a goal from Viktor Gyokeres.
Kairat quickly equalized when Jorginho converted a penalty given away by Riccardo Calafiori.
But Kai Havertz restored Arsenal’s lead on the 15-minute mark, before Gabriel Martinelli added to it later in the first half.
Arsenal had numerous chances to go out of sight, but ultimately won by a much smaller margin than necessary after Ricardinho struck late.
Arsenal finish top of Champions League table with 100% record
| Team | MP | W | D | L | GD | Ptn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Arsenal | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 24 |
| 2. Bayern Munich | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 21 |
| 3. Liverpool | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 18 |
| 4. Tottenham | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 17 |
| 5.Barcelona | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 16 |
| 6.Chelsea | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 16 |
| 7. Sporty | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| 8. Man’s City | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 16 |
| 9. Real Madrid | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 15 |
| 10. Inter Milan | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 15 |
| 11.PSG | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
| 12. Newcastle | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
| 13. Juventus | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 13 |
| 14. Atletico Madrid | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| 15. Atalanta | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 16. Leverkusen | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 12 |
| 17. Dortmund | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
| 18. Olympiakos | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 11 |
| 19. Club Brugge | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 10 |
| 20. Galatasaray | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -2 | 10 |
| 21. Monaco | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | -6 | 10 |
| 22. Garabagh | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -8 | 10 |
| 23. Bodo/Glimt | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -1 | 9 |
| 24. Benfica | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -2 | 9 |
| 25. Marseilles | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 26. Pathos | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -3 | 9 |
| 27. Union SG | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -9 | 9 |
| 28. PSV | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 29. Athletic Bilbao | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -5 | 8 |
| 30. Naples | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -6 | 8 |
| 31. Copenhagen | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -9 | 8 |
| 32. Ajax | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -13 | 6 |
| 33. Frankfurt | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -11 | 4 |
| 34. Slavia Prague | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | -14 | 3 |
| 35. Villarreal | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -13 | 1 |
| 36. Kairat | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -15 | 1 |
Mikel Arteta reflects on Arsenal’s perfect Champions League run
Speaking after overseeing Arsenal’s eighth successive European win to close out the league stage, Arteta said TNT Sports: “Certainly in this competition we are in the position we wanted to be.
“We won eight out of eight games, which is so difficult to do, so all credit to the boys. We are now closing this chapter and can concentrate on other competitions.”
On finishing top, he added: “It gives you a certain privilege to play two games less and the home advantage in the second round, so now we just have to wait and see who we get in the next phase and we will prepare for that with great enthusiasm because it is a competition we love.”
Arsenal’s opponents in the round of 16 are Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta.
Arsenal’s Champions League campaign in numbers
Wednesday’s win over Kairat was Arsenal’s eighth Champions League victory in a row, setting a new club record.
Not only did Arsenal win all eight Champions League games during this season’s competition phase, they were also top scorer with 23 goals.
Arsenal’s 23 goals in the Champions League have been shared between ten players, with Martinelli the top scorer in Europe this season with six.
Most team goals in the competitive phase of the 2025/26 Champions League
| Team | Goals | Sanctions |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 23 | 1 |
| Bayern Munich | 22 | 2 |
| Barcelona | 22 | 2 |
| Real Madrid | 21 | 3 |
| Paris Saint Germain | 21 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 20 | 1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 19 | 2 |
The Gunners also had the tightest defense, conceding just four goals in their eight games.
However, one team kept more clean sheets than Arsenal’s five. That was north London rivals Tottenham with six, after taking out Villarreal, Monaco, Copenhagen, Slavia Prague, Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Best defenses in the Champions League 2025/26
| Team | Goals against | Clean sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Tottenham | 7 | 6 |
| Arsenal | 4 | 5 |
| Newcastle | 7 | 4 |
| Monaco | 14 | 4 |
| Below | 7 | 4 |
| Liverpool | 8 | 4 |
Arsenal top combined Champions League table 2024/26
Arsenal top the table in the 2025/26 edition of the UEFA Champions League after finishing third last season in what was the first edition of the new format.
The Gunners were the only side to finish the league stage this season with a 100% record, underscoring how difficult perfection is to achieve in the expanded 36-team format.
No team also managed to win all eight games last season, with Liverpool topping the table in 2024/25 despite one defeat.
If you were to combine the Champions League table with the results from this season’s competition stages and last season’s, Arsenal would also be top there, four points ahead of Liverpool in second place.
Real Madrid, the most successful European team of all time, would finish seventh in the combined rankings. Real Madrid finished ninth in this season’s league stage after losing 4-2 to Benfica in the final match.
Benfica’s last goal against Real Madrid was scored by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin in the eighth minute of extra time.
| Team | MP | G.F | GO | GD | Ptn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Arsenal | 16 | 39 | 7 | +32 | 43 |
| 2. Liverpool | 16 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 39 |
| 3. Bavaria | 16 | 42 | 20 | +22 | 36 |
| 4.Barcelona | 16 | 50 | 27 | +23 | 35 |
| 5. Inter | 16 | 26 | 8 | +18 | 34 |
| 6. Atletico Madrid | 16 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 31 |
| 7. Real Madrid | 16 | 41 | 24 | +17 | 30 |
| 8. Atalanta | 16 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 28 |
Despite their good form in Europe this season, Alan Shearer recently predicted that Arsenal would not be able to win the Champions League this season.
Shearer wants the Gunners to win the Premier League title, but he wants Paris Saint-Germain to retain their title as kings of Europe.
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