PSG reunion, Kairat test - Arsenal best and worst case Champions League league phase draw

We're now just a matter of hours away from Arsenal discovering their league phase opponents in this season's edition of the Champions League. Mikel Arteta's side reached the final four of the competition last campaign but they were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

Following the conclusion of the play-off round this week, the draw for the league phase will get underway at 5pm at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. As was the case 12 months ago, there will be four pots of nine teams and automated software will then be used to pair each side with two from each pot to determine each club's eight fixtures.

When a club is paired with two teams from a pot, one game will be at home and the other will be away. No teams from the same country can be drawn against each other and a club cannot face more than two opponents from the same association.

Ahead of this evening's draw, we have decided to take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for Arsenal when it comes to their league phase fixtures.

Best case scenario

Opponents: Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Eintracht Frankfurt, Villarreal, Slavia Prague, Bodo/Glimt, Pafos, Union Saint-Gilloise.

Arsenal can only come up against six potential opponents from Pot 1 due to the fact Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are in there. Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan would be the pick from the top pot, thus avoiding PSG, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the process.

In Pot 2, Eintracht Frankfurt and Villarreal would be seen as favourable considering teams such as Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are in there. Slavia Prague and Bodo/Glimt would be ideal opponents from Pot 3 and the same goes for Pafos and Union Saint-Gilloise in Pot 4.

Worst case scenario

Opponents: PSG, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Napoli, Marseille, Galatasaray, Kairat.

When it comes to the worst case scenario for Arsenal, last season's Champions League winners PSG will be the team to avoid from Pot 1. Barcelona have improved in recent seasons and are a team Arsenal will probably want to miss out on when looking at the others in Pot 1.

Real Madrid are also in the top pot but Arsenal demonstrated last season that they can put them to the sword after winning both quarter-final ties against them. In Pot 2, Atletico Madrid are an extremely tough nut to crack and Juventus may be a tricky game for the Gunners.

There could be a couple of awkward games from Pot 3 as an away day at either Napoli or Marseille could be very tough to negotiate due to the atmosphere inside their respective stadiums. The same also goes for Galatasaray in Pot 4.

Kairat would be good opponents for Arsenal on paper but a long away trip to Kazakhstan could turn into a bit of a nightmare due to the time it takes to get there and it could also come at a tough period during the season.

Champions League league phase schedule

Matchday 1: 16-18 September

Matchday 2: 30 September-1 October

Matchday 3: 21-22 October

Matchday 4: 4-5 November

Matchday 5: 25-26 November

Matchday 6: 9-10 December

Matchday 7: 20-21 January

Matchday 8: 28 January

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.