DISCOVER THE UCL KNOCKOUT BRACKET: WHO ARSENAL AND LIVERPOOL ARE LIKELY TO FACE
Chaos looms as 18 matches decide the UCL Round of 16. Projections for Newcastle, Chelsea, and Tottenham’s big night.
The Champions League table is hanging by a thread, and Wednesday night promises chaos. Every team—36 in total—has just one game left to play before the knockout rounds come into focus.
All 18 matches start at 8pm sharp on Wednesday. Six Premier League clubs are still in the mix, and five of them are sitting pretty in the top eight.
If you finish in the top eight, you get seeded and go straight to the round of 16. Land anywhere from ninth to 24th, though, and you have to slog through a two-legged play-off. Arsenal are basically locked in at the top thanks to their insane goal difference. Liverpool and Tottenham just need to handle their business—beat Qarabag and Eintracht Frankfurt—and they’re through.
Newcastle, Chelsea, and Manchester City still have work to do. And because of the new Champions League draw, we already have a decent idea who each team might face—even though everything could change on the night.
Right now, Man City are 11th, making them the only English side not automatically through. Our projections have them facing either Monaco or PSV in the play-off.
If City win that, their reward is a tie with either Spurs or PSG in the last 16. Not exactly a walk in the park.
Spurs, if they avoid City, look set to play Monaco, PSV, or Atletico Madrid in their opener.
Arsenal’s reward for topping the group? A last-16 showdown with one of Galatasaray, Qarabag, Juventus, or Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool, sitting fourth, is on track to meet Atalanta, Inter Milan, Marseille, or Bayer Leverkusen.
Newcastle, currently seventh, could run into Barcelona if they keep their spot. Other possible opponents: Sporting CP, Athletic Club, or Olympiacos.
Chelsea are eighth, so they’re pulling from the same pool as Newcastle.
The way the draw pans out, Arsenal could meet Newcastle or Chelsea in the quarters. You might even get an all-English quarter-final. Or Barcelona could be waiting.
Liverpool—six-time champs—could end up facing Man City or Spurs in the quarter-finals, or maybe PSG or Atletico. Nothing’s set in stone, but with just one game left for everyone, the table could flip fast.
Arsenal looks locked into second overall. Liverpool probably can’t get higher than third, thanks to goal difference.
Tottenham’s best hope is third. Newcastle and Chelsea have to avoid losing—Newcastle at PSG, Chelsea at Napoli—to stay in the top eight. City needs to beat Galatasaray at home and hope a few results go their way.
One last twist: topping the league phase didn’t help Liverpool last season—they got PSG in the last 16 and bowed out early. But this time, if Arsenal finish top, they’ll get home advantage in the second leg of every knockout tie. That could make all the difference.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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