Arsenal Champions League History: Wenger’s 2006 Final Still Stands Alone

Arsenal Champions League history still points back to 2006, when Arsène Wenger took the club to its only final in the competition. That remains the last time Arsenal’s men reached that stage, even as the club’s women finished the 2024–25 season as Europe’s top team.

Wenger’s 2006 run

Arsenal became the first London team to reach a Champions League final in 2006, a mark that still separates that side from every one that followed. The club is still chasing its first Champions League trophy, which leaves that run as the high-water point in the men’s competition history.

The route to Paris was clean. Arsenal eliminated Real Madrid, Juventus and Villarreal in the knockout rounds without conceding a goal, a sequence that showed how tight the team was over 90 minutes.

Paris and Barcelona

The final itself came at Stade de France against Barcelona. Arsenal’s lineup that day featured Jens Lehmann, Emmanuel Eboué, Kolo Touré, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole, Robert Pirès, Gilberto, Cesc Fàbregas, Alexander Hleb, Freddie Ljungberg and Thierry Henry.

Barcelona started Valdés, Oleguer, Márquez, Puyol, Van Bronckhorst, Edmilson, Deco, Van Bommel, Giuly, Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho. Lionel Messi was in his first season as a starter then, but a season-ending hamstring injury kept him out beyond the round of 16.

Arsenal’s European count

Arsenal’s men have two European honors to their name, the 1970 Inter-Cities Fair Cup and the 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup. Neither is recognized as a major title, which is why the Champions League remains the missing piece in the club’s European record.

That leaves the 2006 final as the reference point for Mikel Arteta’s current side and anyone measuring how far Arsenal have come in Europe. The club’s women ended the 2024–25 season with Europe’s top prize, but the men’s search still begins with that night in Paris.