Match Day 6 in the Champions League League Phase sees Club Brugge pick up the gauntlet with Arsenal. Read all about it here!
The Fixture
On Wednesday, Club Brugge will be hosting the game against English Arsenal FC, scheduled on Match Day 6 of the Champions League League Phase.
For the 383rd time, Club will be manning the European stage, while Arsenal FC prepares for its 368th mission, and this in Club's 12th UCL campaign (in the group stages) and Arsenal's 22nd. The two teams will be meeting for the very first time in Europe, making The Gunners the 138th unique opponent in Club Brugge's rich European history.
The 13th team hailing from England, Arsenal FC will be representing England in the 33rd European encounter with Club. At its home ground against 12 other English opponents, Club won 7, drew 3 and lost 5. In four previous CL encounters with Belgian teams, The Gunners are unbeaten, winning three and drawing once.
2025 will be written in the golden pages of Club's history as one featuring 16 European games (7W 2D 6L), in a year seeing Club make it to the UCL Round of 16 for the first time. 16 equals the team record of 2015 when Club made it to the UEL Quarter Finals. It's the first time Club has played this many UCL games in the one single calendar year.
The Opponent
Founded in 1886, Arsenal FC resides in the North of London. With 13 league titles under its belt (the last one in 2004), the team also has 14 FA Cups (last one in 2020) and 2 European Cups (Fair Cities Cup in 1970 and Europacup II in 1994) in its prize cabinet. Arsenal came in second last season, also beating PSV and Real Madrid in a Champions League run that saw them eliminated against later winners PSG in the Semis.
Between 1999 and 2016, The Gunners made it to the UCL for 19 years on a spin, but then followed it up with 6 years of absence. This season is their third consecutive appearance.
Managing the club since December 2019 is Spanish legend Mikel Arteta (43). At the end of his playing career, he was at Arsenal for five years (2011-2016), only to pick up as assistant coach to Pep Guardiola's Man City. His first managerial appointment has been at Arsenal, where he helped the club towards 1 FA Cup (2019-20) and 2 Supercups (2020-21 en 2023-24).
A first defeat for Arsenal in 12 league games over the weekend, as Aston Villa went up and over the Gunners, having taken the lead through Leandro Trossard, coutesy of Matty Cash and an absolute last-gasp winner by Emiliano Buendía. It's the team's second defeat of the season, having gone down at Liverpool FC end of August (1-0).
The League Phase has been a blessing for Arsenal so far, with a perfect run so far. The first four Match Days came with four clean sheets even: 0-2 at Athletic Club (Esp), 2-0 vs Olympiacos FC (Gre), 4-0 against Club Atlético Madrid and 0-3 at AS Sparta Praha. Match Day 5 saw the clash between the two teams showing the most promising form as Arsenal and FC Bayern München (Ger) battled it out at the Emirates Stadium, resulting in a thumping 3-1 win for the English. A perfect 15 out of 15 makes Arsenal the first team to be absolutely sure of progressing in the UCL.
Danger comes from everywhere in this side, but topping the goal scorers table is Bukayo Saka with 7 goals: 4 Premier League goals, 2 UCL and 1 EFL Cup. Assist king so far is his compatriot Declan Rice (6 assists, 4 in PL + 2 in UCL).
Milestones
- Kyriani Sabbe is up for a 90th official game at Club.
- Nicolò Tresoldi could be playing for Club for the 30th time.
- This could be game 25 for Carlos Forbs in Club attire, and game 25 in Europe (15 for AFC Ajax, 9 for Club).
- A tenth possible European game for Aleksandar Stanković, Carlos Forbs, Nicolò Tresoldi and Hugo Siquet.
- Should Simon Mignolet prove fit to play, he might be playing the 90th Europena game of his career (25 for Liverpool FC, 64 for Club).
The Man in Black
Appointed for this thrilling game is German referee Mr. Sven Jablonski, backed by his compatriots Mr. Eduard Beitinger and Mr. Lasse Koslowski. Fourth official will be Mr. Tobias Reichel. In charge of VAR will be Mr. Sascha Stegemann, assisted by Mr. Ivan Bebek.
Mr. Jablonski is a 35-year old ref from Bremen, a First Category ref, which is the second highest category at UEFA. Mr. Jablonski has been in charge of Bundesliga games since 2017, and has been a FIFA ref for three years now.
This will be the first time he is in charge of a game featuring Club Brugge. Earlier on, he had a KAA Ghent game. For the 37th time, a German referee will be handling the whistle in a game featuring Club Brugge.