Arsenal travel to Spain for their opening Champions League group stage clash as they face an Athletic Bilbao side who were impressive in La Liga last season
Arsenal and Athletic Bilbao will meet in competitive action for the very first time as both sides kick off their 2025-26 Champions League league phase campaigns on Tuesday at San Mames Stadium. The Gunners have been on an upward trajectory in Europe since their return to the elite stage, while their hosts are making only their third appearance in the Champions League proper.
Arsenal’s quest for European silverware remains unfulfilled, with their last continental triumph dating back to the 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. However, under Mikel Arteta, there’s a growing belief that the North Londoners are now genuine contenders for Champions League glory. After ending a seven-year absence from the tournament, Arteta guided Arsenal to the quarter-finals in 2024 and the semi-finals in 2025, where they put up a stronger fight against eventual champions Paris Saint-Germain than Inter Milan managed in the final.
Entering this new European campaign after a £250 million summer spending spree, Arsenal have set their sights on a Premier League and Champions League double, having already collected nine points from their opening four league matches. Despite being without Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and Kai Havertz—and losing Martin Odegaard to a shoulder injury—Arteta’s men cruised to a 3-0 victory over Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with Martin Zubimendi netting twice and Viktor Gyokeres scoring his third goal in four games.
Now, Arsenal are on the verge of a unique continental achievement: a win in Bilbao would make them the first team to defeat Spanish opposition six times in a row in the European Cup/Champions League, following victories over Real Madrid (twice), Sevilla (twice), and Girona since 2023.
While Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals for just the third time in their history last season, Athletic Bilbao are making only their third appearance in Europe’s premier club competition since its rebranding in 1992. Only Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid finished above the Basque side in the 2024-25 La Liga season, with Ernesto Valverde’s men amassing an impressive 70 points to secure fourth place—edging out Villarreal on head-to-head points.
Athletic’s previous Champions League campaigns in 2014-15 and 1998-99 both ended at the group stage, but after suffering a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Manchester United in last year’s Europa League semi-finals, the eight-time La Liga champions are eager to make amends. However, the international break may have disrupted their momentum, as they began the 2025-26 La Liga season with three consecutive wins over Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, and Real Betis, only to fall 1-0 at home to Alaves on Saturday due to an unfortunate Alex Berenguer own goal.
Tuesday’s encounter marks the first competitive meeting between Arsenal and Athletic, though the two sides did face off in this year’s Emirates Cup in North London, where Arsenal comfortably retained the friendly trophy with a 3-0 win.