No one has ever done it before: Arsenal creates new UEFA Champions League history after completing the league phase.
On 29 Jan 2026 GMT+7, following Arsenal's status as Premier League leaders, the club fielded a second-string lineup to narrowly beat Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan 3-2 at home in the UEFA Champions League 2025-26 league phase final match last night.
This victory means Arsenal has won all 8 matches, collecting a full 24 points, finishing first in the UEFA Champions League league phase standings, automatically advancing to the last 16, and securing seeded status (hosting the second leg) in the draw on 27 February.
Arsenal has made UEFA Champions League history by becoming the first team to win all 8 matches in the newly formatted league phase introduced last season. Liverpool nearly accomplished this but lost to PSV Eindhoven in their final game.
Previously, there have been 13 instances of teams winning all their matches in the UEFA Champions League group stage under the old format of 6 matches, achieved by 9 teams, with only Real Madrid and Bayern Munich doing so three times each, as follows:
AC Milan (1992/93)
Paris Saint-Germain (1994/95)
Spartak Moscow (1995/96)
Barcelona (2002/03)
Real Madrid (2011/12)
Real Madrid (2014/15)
Bayern Munich (2019/20)
Ajax (2021/22)
Liverpool (2021/22)
Bayern Munich (2021/22)
Bayern Munich (2022/23)
Real Madrid (2023/24)
Manchester City (2023/24)
Therefore, Arsenal has set a new UEFA Champions League record by winning more matches (8) in the league phase compared to the previous group stage format (6 matches).