Can Mikel Arteta bring Champions League glory to Arsenal? The incredible record that says yes

Last Updated on 5 May 2026

There is a stat sitting quietly in the annals of Champions League history that no one talks about enough. One that no other club in the history of Europe’s elite competition has done it. Not Real Madrid, not Bayern Munich, not Liverpool in their prime.

Arsenal, of all clubs, own this record, and on Tuesday night at the Emirates, they have the chance to extend it. And if they do, the prize would be a Champions League final for the first time since 2006.

The Gunners, in front of a sold-out Emirates faithful, know that any kind of win sends them to Budapest. History, and the numbers, are firmly on their side.

Eight unbeaten: Arsenal’s astonishing record against La Liga’s finest

Arsenal are the first club to have beaten Spanish opposition seven times in a row in the Champions League, as per Statmuse. A streak that also represents their best run of form against any single nation in the competition’s history.

It began in the 2023-24 group stage, with back-to-back wins over Sevilla. Then came a 2-1 victory away at Girona in January 2025 during the league phase, before the Gunners were drawn against Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

They won 3-0 at the Emirates before a late Martinelli goal sealed a famous night at the Bernabeu. This season, the streak continued with a win in Bilbao against Athletic Club, followed by a 4-0 demolition of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid in north London.

In fact, Arsenal have not lost to any Spanish opposition in European competitions since 2016. The last time Arsenal failed to beat a Spanish opponent in the Champions League was when Barcelona knocked them out in the last 16 back in 2015-16. That is more than a decade ago.

The significance of that 1-1 draw cannot be overstated. Arsenal have shown genuine defensive resilience this season, conceding just once across ties with Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting CP. As a result, any kind of Arsenal win on Tuesday, by a single goal, or by several, ends the tie.

Mikel Arteta on the brink of immortality: The month that could define a legacy

If May goes Arsenal’s way, Mikel Arteta will not simply go down as a good manager. He will become one of the immortals in the club’s history, the man who ended a 22-year wait for a league title and delivered the Champions League for the first time in Arsenal’s existence.

That is the magnitude of what is at stake. Arteta is convinced his side can handle the mounting pressure of bidding to win the Champions League for the first time, while simultaneously chasing the Premier League trophy after a 22-year wait.

Arteta’s Arsenal have finished as Premier League runners-up in each of the last three campaigns. They’ve been the nearly men. Close enough to taste it, never quite able to grab it. This time, the picture is different, though it is far from comfortable.

Arsenal sit at the top of the Premier League table, but Manchester City are level on points with a game in hand meaning if both clubs win all their remaining matches, they finish equal, with the title decided by goal difference, where City currently hold a marginal advantage.

Yet within all that domestic tension, Arsenal remain the only team in this season’s Champions League not to have lost a single game. No other team went through the league phase with a 100% record; Arsenal were also the competition’s top scorers and kept five clean sheets.

The double is still on, the dream is alive. Tuesday night is the moment the story either accelerates toward something historic, or unravels. Win, and Budapest beckons. Win the league too, and nothing in this club’s history can compare.

The Spanish record is just the start of it.