After we beat Girona in our final Champions League league phase game, we secured third spot in the 36-team table and a coveted spot in the last 16 of the competition.
That means we skip the play-off round next month, but who could we face once that is complete, and what are the benefits of our impressive displays in Europe so far?
Here is what we need to do, and why it matters:
FINAL TABLE
Data provided by Scoreaxis
WHO HAS QUALIFIED for the LAST 16?
Only Liverpool and Barcelona finished above us in the table. The Reds were beaten 3-2 by PSV Eindhoven to prevent them achieving a clean sweep of eight wins from eight, while Barca drew 2-2 with Atalanta to also see them fail to finish with a win.
The only team to beat us in the league stage was Inter Milan, and they finished level on points with us after beating Monaco 3-0, but that wasn’t enough to overhaul our superior goal difference so we pipped them to third spot.
Atletico Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen held onto their spots thanks to matchday 8 wins over RB Salzburg and Sparta Prague, while Lille and Aston Villa were the night’s big winners as they snuck into the top eight with big wins over Feyenoord and Celtic.
WHO WILL BE IN THE PLAY-OFF ROUND?
Atalanta and AC Milan slipped out of the top eight on the final matchday and dropped into the play-off round. Our matchday one opponents battled hard to draw 2-2 at Barcelona, while Milan fell to a surprise 2-1 loss at another of our previous opponents, Dinamo Zagreb.
Recent finalists Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich all made it through, while Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon just scraped into the last 32 on the final matchday.
Also through are PSV Eindhoven, Monaco, Brest, Feyenoord, Celtic and Club Brugge, who clung onto the 26th and final spot to remain in contention.
WHO HAS BEEN ELIMINATED?
Dinamo Zagreb just missed out on goal difference, while Stuttgart suffered a costly defeat against PSG to see them fall into the elimination spots.
Two of our league phase foes also miss out in Shakhtar Donetsk and Girona, while Young Boys, Slovan Bratislava, Salzburg, Leipzig, Sparta Prague, Sturm Graz, Red Star Belgrade and Bologna have all seen their European adventures end.
What are the benefits of finishing third?
By finishing as high as possible in the table, teams better their chances of facing a middle-ranking team in the league table in the last-16, rather than one of those who just missed out.
Teams who have previously faced each other in the league phase or are from the same country can also be opponents from the knockout stage onwards.
By finishing third, we will now face the winners of the play-off between the teams who finished in 13th or 14th, or 19th or 20th. The teams who finished in those positions are AC Milan (13th), PSV Eindhoven (14th), Feyenoord (19th) and Juventus (20th).
As well as increased prize money of 275,000 euros per place, another benefit of finishing in the top four sees us effectively be seeded, avoiding both Liverpool and Barcelona until at least the semi-final.
WHO COULD FACE WHO?
All the teams who remain in the competition have been placed into bracket, to help everyone plot their potential routes to the final.
That has left the following situations which could take place in the play-off round and round of 16:
Monaco or Brest vs. Paris Saint-Germain or Benfica (for the right to play Liverpool or Barcelona)Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge vs. Atalanta or Borussia Dortmund (for the right to play Lille or Aston Villa)Celtic or Manchester City vs. Real Madrid or Bayern Munich (for the right to play Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen)Feyenoord or Juventus vs. AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven (for the right to play Arsenal or Inter Milan)Brest or Monaco vs. Benfica or Paris Saint-Germain (for the right to play Barcelona or Liverpool)Club Brugge or Sporting Lisbon vs. Borussia Dortmund or Atalanta (for the right to play Aston Villa or Lille)Manchester City or Celtic vs. Bayern Munich or Real Madrid (for the right to play Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid)
Juventus or Feyenoord vs. PSV Eindhoven or AC Milan (for the right to play Inter Milan or Arsenal)
WHEN WE WILL FIND OUT WHO WE’LL FACE NEXT?
There will be a draw for the play-off round on Friday, 31 January to determine which teams will face whom next month.
Then once the play-off round finishes, there will be another draw on Friday, February 21 to determine which of the two play-off winners we’ll face. One thing that is certain is that a top-eight spot guarantees the second leg of our last-16 tie will be played at Emirates Stadium, but from the quarter-finals onwards, a draw will dictate this.
