Mikel Arteta has said he expects the new format of the Champions League to have a big effect on match preparation this season, as the players cope with a new schedule and extended workload.
We will play at least eight matches in European competition in 2024/25, and it could be as many as 17 if we make it all the way to the Champions League final in Munich next May.
The group stage has been replaced by a 36-strong single league – each side plays eight other teams just once, with four games at home and four away.
The top eight then go straight into the last 16 and the next 16 teams play off for the right to join them, while the bottom 12 teams are eliminated from European football altogether. These teams no longer drop down to the Europa League.
We will play our opening Champions League game in mid-September, then two more in October, two in November, one in December and two in January before the knock-out stages kick in.
“Every game is going to be crucial,” Arteta said. “You want to finish as high as possible, and in order to do that you have to win every game. You can play against any opposition at any ground. That’s great and it gives you a great chance to see very early in the season, where you are, what your level is and how much you have progressed through the competition. Obviously, that’s going to be elevated to a different level.”
The main difference, he explains, is that whereas we played three different teams in the old group stages, we must now prepare to play seven teams in the first half of the season, adding to the workload of the analysts particularly.
“Yes, we’re going to have to prepare many more games. Our analysts and ourselves as coaches, we’re going to have very, very different demands. So we’re going to put things in place to try to be more efficient, to simplify the messages as well.
“Because the preparation of games is going to be really short, so we’re going to have to maximise that time to give as much clarity and belief to the players to go and execute what they have to do to win the game.”
Before that though, we will look to hit the ground running in the Premier League. Our campaign starts at home against Wolves on Saturday, August 17, and our first three away matches are all against sides who finished in last season’s top five – Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City in that order.
“I think it’s always really important to start at home,” the boss said, “and I think everybody is looking forward to that. It’s a really special game, the first Premier League game at home, that’s really positive. And after that it all depends. You can look at it many different ways: Sequences of matches, I always look a lot at the type of opponent we’re going to play, what kind of formation, what kind of managers, can we have some consistency over a few weeks? The difficulty is when you look, there’s not an easy game there. We’re going to have to earn it, and let’s go game by game and do what we have to do.”
With that schedule facing us in the opening few weeks, it means that pre-season will be absolutely crucial, so what is the plan for the team over the next few weeks?
“Well, we have four different groups. One of the groups didn’t have any international football, so they had a period of five or six weeks where they could enjoy the summer, start preparing their bodies but as well refresh mentally after that tough season. We had a few weeks in Marbella to start getting the engines back, and physically and mentally start to get.
“Then the international payers that only played friendlies joined us for a part in Marbella.
“Then we start at the Sobha Realty Training Centre with players that played some international football at the Euros and Copa America. From there we are going to move to the US, which we are really looking forward to because that’s been like a home for us. What we have built up there with our supporters over the years has been unbelievable.
“Then we are going to go back to London to play against Leverkusen and then the Emirates Cup against Lyon. So it fits in really well with what we want to do, different kinds of opponents, different parts of the world, keeping our connection with our supporters and having the right football preparation to be very strong at the start of the season.”
So everything is gearing up for another exciting campaign, and Arteta exuded positivity when asked how he would sum up his feelings ahead of the season. “[I’m] excited, ambitious and really, really looking forward to it.
“We have excellent people across the club to work every single day. I always say I enjoy my day here. I wake up in the morning and I’m excited to see everyone and I think you can feel that across the club.
“We have fantastic staff and players, and we don’t know where the limits of those players are. We are just trying to find the right tools and the right ways to keep improving them, to bring joy and major trophies to the club.”
You can watch the full interview by clicking on the video above.
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