Major Champions League rule change kicks in that makes group games more important but it’s a year too late for Arsenal

THE CHAMPIONS League will make its return on Tuesday night featuring a new rule change that is set to raise the stakes of the League phase.

The new league format of the Champions League group stage debuted last year and produced some electric match-ups.

A new rule change will debut in Tuesday’s Champions league fixturesCredit: Sunday Times

The change gives home advantage to teams in the knockouts based on league phase positionCredit: Alamy

The rule would have helped Arsenal had it been in place last yearCredit: Sunday TimesBut some fans felt that the format felt hollow without the league table having implications beyond the thresholds required to qualify.

Uefa has addressed these concerns with a new rule this year with implications right through to the semi-finals.

Teams coming up against each other in the knockout stages will now be granted home advantage in the second legs of their fixtures based on who finished higher in the league phase.

The hope is that the extra jeopardy will drive teams to play more aggressively in hopes of maintaining a good league position and goal difference.

The change will also deter those who qualify comfortably with games in hand from fielding weaker sides later in the league phase.

It is a change that could have drastically changed things for Arsenal had it been in place during last season’s edition of the tournament.

The Gunners finished third in the league phase, behind only Barcelona and Liverpool.

However, they received an unfavourable draw in the quarter-final and played their second leg against defending champions Real Madrid, who finished the league phase eight places below Mikel Arteta’s men, away at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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Though Arsenal overcame that test emphatically with a 5-1 victory on aggregate, they faced similar circumstances in the next round against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG had a poor league phase and finished twelve places below Arsenal in 15th, but they got to play the second leg of their contest at the Parc des Princes, where they won to secure a 3-1 victory on aggregate.

PSG sealed their victory over Arsenal at home last seasonCredit: Sunday TimesArteta will hope that the Gunners can mount an equally strong league phase this season to take advantage of the new rule, and finally secure their long-awaited European silverware.

They kick off their campaign with an opener in Spain against Athletic Club on Tuesday, for which they will be without Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Ben White and Kai Havertz, who have all already picked up injuries this season.