Next season Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle United will all feature in the Champions League, but how well can the English teams do in the competition this year?
Reigning European champions City will go into the competition as the holders, meaning they will have a target on their backs from the start. So far, the club have completed the transfer of Mateo Kovačić from Chelsea and are heavily linked with RB Leipzig’s Joško Gvardiol.
Pep Guardiola has crafted a team that sometimes look unstoppable across all competitions, and with the pressure of winning City’s first Champions League over, the players will go full steam ahead for the upcoming campaign.
If Erling Haaland can come close to or replicate his 52 goals of last season, then he’ll be a massive threat once more. The new system adopted by the treble-winners has been at the heart of their success.
With the flexibility of a defender (usually John Stones) pushing into midfield to give City an extra man in the middle of the park, it helped to create overloads in the midfield battles and was a huge positive in their performances.
Stones’ ability to move further up the field helped to show an attacking side to his game, with his defence-splitting passes and quick dribbles up the pitch.
In the 2023-24 campaign Arsenal will compete in the Champions League for the first time in seven seasons. The Gunners’ last time in the competition saw them exit in the round of 16 against Bayern Munich, when Arsene Wenger’s team lost 10-2 on aggregate to the German giants.
Mikel Arteta’s side will be an exciting watch in Europe this season, with Bukayo Saka making his debut in the competition, and his linkup play with Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus will certainly be appealing to the neutrals.
The North London club will look to build on last season’s strong showing in the first half of the Premier League. With Champions League football returning to the Emirates Stadium, the Arsenal fans will be buzzing with anticipation.
Manchester United return to the Champions League after one season out of the competition. The United manager Erik ten Hag has lots of experience in the UCL, as he was manager of Ajax during their memorable 2018-19 campaign, when they reached the semi-finals.
The Red Devils return to the Champions League with key players in the squad who have the experiences of winning the trophy on multiple occasions, such as Casemiro and Raphael Varane. Their prior success in the competition could massively help United when it comes to crunch time.
Newcastle United will bring Champions League football back to St James’ Park for the first time in 21 seasons. Eddie Howe’s side smashed all expectations last season and managed to secure a top four spot.
After being taken over by their Saudi owners, the Magpies have spent extremely well and have been very smart with their investments. The signing of Kieran Trippier was huge for their season on and off the pitch.
The La Liga winner’s leadership was crucial in helping his side not crumble under the pressure of securing UCL football and his knowledge of the competition will come in handy.
The addition of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan is a huge signing for the Magpies in terms of European pedigree, as he played in the Champions League semi-final between AC Milan and Inter Milan. Tonali featured in both legs of the tie and he will be aiming to push Newcastle as deep into the competition as possible this season.
