Girona vs Arsenal facts

Girona's final game in their debut UEFA Champions League campaign brings them up against Arsenal.

The Spanish side have lost six of their seven league phase fixtures including all of the last four, going down 1-0 at AC Milan on Matchday 7 – a third successive defeat by the same scoreline. Girona have three points and can no longer reach the knockout phase.

Arsenal, by contrast, sealed their progress with a 3-0 home victory against GNK Dinamo last time out, giving the Gunners 16 points with three straight wins.

This is the teams' first meeting, although Girona have already faced English opposition this season.

Form guide

Girona

Record vs English clubs: W0 D0 L1 F0 A1
Home record vs English clubs: W0 D0 L1

Girona's 0-1 Matchday 6 defeat by Liverpool was their first game against a club from England.

Girona are the 14th Spanish side to feature in the Champions League proper – one short of Germany's competition record.

Indeed, this is the first time Girona have taken part in UEFA competition. Leipzig, in 2017, are the only previous club to have made their European debut in the Champions League proper, an honour Girona have shared with Brest this season.

Girona are one of five clubs to be making their Champions League debuts in 2024/25, along with Aston Villa, Bologna, Brest and Slovan Bratislava.

Míchel guided Girona to third place in last season's La Liga table on 81 points, 14 behind champions Real Madrid and only four adrift of runners-up Barcelona.

That was also Los Blanquivermells' highest league placing in what was only their fourth season in the Spanish top flight; they finished tenth in both 2017/18 and 2022/23 and 18th in 2018/19, when they were relegated.

At home in this season's Champions League, Girona have lost to Feyenoord (2-3) and Liverpool either side of a 2-0 defeat of Slovan – their first, and only, European victory.

Arsenal

Record vs Spanish clubs: W14 D9 L16 F52 A51
Away record vs Spanish clubs: W4 D3 L11

Arsenal were paired with Sevilla in last season's group stage, winning 2-1 in Spain on Matchday 3 and 2-0 in north London two weeks later.

That made it four victories in the Gunners' last six games against Liga opponents, home and away (D1 L1).

The win at Sevilla was only Arsenal's fourth in their 18 fixtures away to Spanish sides. A 4-2 victory at Valencia in the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg (7-3 aggregate) is the only other of their last seven games away to Liga opponents that did not end in defeat.

Arsenal have won only 14 of their 39 UEFA fixtures against Spanish opposition, losing three finals – against Barcelona in the 2005/06 Champions League decider and in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Valencia (1979/80) and Real Zaragoza (1994/95).

Having not featured in the Champions League proper between 2016/17 and 2023/24, Arsenal are making their second successive appearance.

Overall, this is Arsenal's 21st Champions League campaign – second only to Manchester United's 25 among English clubs – but only their second in the last eight seasons. The 2016/17 season had been their 19th in a row, all under Arsène Wenger.

Mikel Arteta's side finished first in Group B last season and then edged past Porto – their first round of 16 success since 2009/10, also against the Portuguese side – but lost to Bayern München in the quarter-finals (2-2 h, 0-1 a).

Arsenal have won 13 of their last 24 away European matches, losing only six – although those defeats have come in their last 12. This season they have drawn at Atalanta (0-0), lost 0-1 at Inter Milan and won 5-1 at Sporting CP, the latter equalling their biggest away Champions League victory.

Champions League runners-up in 2006, when they lost 2-1 to Barcelona at the Stade de France, Arsenal were second in the Premier League last season, finishing behind Manchester City for the second successive campaign.

Links and trivia

Have played in England:
Paulo Gazzaniga (Southampton 2012–16, Tottenham 2017–21)
Daley Blind (Manchester United 2014–18)
Oriol Romeu (Chelsea 2011–13, Southampton 2015–23)
Donny van de Beek (Manchester United 2020–24, Everton 2021/22 loan)
Arnaut Danjuma (Bournemouth 2019–21, Tottenham 2022/23 loan, Everton 2023/24 loan)
Bryan Gil (Tottenham 2021–24)
Cristhian Stuani (Middlesbrough 2015–17)

Van de Beek scored in Everton's 5-1 loss at Arsenal on the final day of the 2021/22 Premier League season.

Have played in Spain:
Mikel Merino (Osasuna 2014–16, Real Sociedad 2018–24)
Thomas Partey (Atlético de Madrid 2012–20, Mallorca 2013/14 loan, Almería 2014/15 loan)
Martin Ødegaard (Real Madrid 2015–21, Real Sociedad 2019/20 loan)
Neto (Valencia 2017–19, Barcelona 2019–22)

International team-mates:
Bryan Gil & Mikel Merino, David Raya (Spain)
Daley Blind, Donny van de Beek & Jurriën Timber (Netherlands)
Viktor Tsygankov & Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine)

Latest news

Girona

On Sunday Girona conceded twice in the last ten minutes to lose 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano, making it seven defeats in 11 games in all competitions (W2 D2).

The Matchday 6 defeat at home against Liverpool was the second of three successive losses for Girona.

A 2-1 reverse at Mallorca in their next game on 14 December made it six games without a win in all competitions (D2 L4), Donny van de Beek's strike only Girona's third goal in that run.

Michel's side won their next two matches, beating Valladolid 3-0 at home on 20 December and Alavés 1-0 away on 11 January. Those are Girona's only wins in 11 games in all competitions (D2 L7).

Girona have only won ten of their 30 games this season (D5 L15), and only six in 13 at home (D1 L6).

They have kept nine clean sheets this season, four of them at home.

Daley Blind was substituted in the first half on Sunday with a hamstring injury.

Bojan Miovski has not played since 7 December with a sprained ankle, although he was an unused substitute on Sunday.

Miguel Gutiérrez was forced off in the first half against Alavés due to a severe bruise on his ankle and has missed the last three games.

Arsenal

Riccardo Calafiori's second-half winner gave Arsenal a 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday. It was the Gunners' eighth Premier League goal from a defender this season, more than any other club.

Myles Lewis-Skelly's first-half red card made him, aged 18 years 121 days, the youngest Arsenal player to be sent off in a Premier League match and the third youngest overall.

On 18 January Arsenal let slip a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at home to Aston Villa; it was the first time since October 2019 they had failed to win a Premier League match in which they had led by two goals, a run of 46 games.

The Gunners ended a three-game run without a win in all competitions with a 2-1 comeback success against Tottenham in the north London derby on 15 January.

Arsenal are unbeaten in 13 Premier League matches, since a 1-0 loss at Newcastle on 2 November; their record since is W8 D5.

A 0-2 loss at home to Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final first leg on 7 January ended Arsenal's 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions (W9 D4); the away second leg is on 5 February.

Mikel Arteta's side bowed out of the FA Cup with a 3-5 loss on penalties at home to Manchester United after a 1-1 draw in the third round on 12 January.

William Saliba played 90 minutes on Saturday having missed two games with a thigh injury.

Calafiori came on at half-time on Saturday having been out with a knee injury suffered in a 1-1 draw at Brighton on 4 January.

Martin Ødegaard missed the win at Wolves through illness while Mikel Merino had a knock.

Gabriel Jesus is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after damaging the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee against Manchester United.

Bukayo Saka has been sidelined by a hamstring injury suffered in a 5-1 win at Crystal Palace on 21 December.

Ben White has not played since undergoing knee surgery in November.

Takehiro Tomiyasu has been out since 5 October due to a knee injury.