Ajax in the top three
Thirteen matches unbeaten: Where does Arsenal rank in the Champions League all-time standings?
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Arsenal is enjoying a remarkable run in the Champions League. The Gunners secured a draw away at Atlético Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final (1-1), extending their unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive matches in the competition. This equals the club’s own record in the Champions League, but where does this streak stand on the all-time list of all teams in Europe’s most prestigious tournament since its inception in 1992?
The leader with an incredible run, nearly double Arsenal’s current streak, is Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Between 2007 and 2009, the Red Devils went an astonishing 25 Champions League matches without defeat, winning the trophy with the big ears in 2008. The streak began with a group-stage victory over Sporting in 2007 and ended with a loss to FC Barcelona in the 2009 final. In second place is Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola, who went 22 Champions League matches unbeaten between 2022 and 2024, winning the title in 2023.
Bayern Munich has impressively recorded two separate unbeaten runs of 19 matches—between 2019-21 and 2001-02—while Ajax also managed a 19-match unbeaten streak from 1994 to 1996. The Amsterdam side thus shares third place on the list of the longest unbeaten runs in Champions League history.
FC Barcelona went 16 matches unbeaten between 2011 and 2012, while Manchester United achieved two separate 16-match unbeaten streaks: between 2001-02 and 1998-99. Real Madrid, the 15-time champions, have a longest unbeaten run of 15 matches, which occurred between 2016 and 2017.
With their current streak, Arsenal now sits in sixteenth place on the all-time list, equaling the club’s own record from 2005-06, when they reached the final and lost to Barcelona. If the Gunners avoid defeat against Atlético in the second leg at the Emirates, they will move up to eleventh place. Should they then win the final, they would climb to ninth.
