Arsenal's last XI to play in the Champions League (2017): Where are they now? | OneFootball

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An awful lot has unfolded since Arsenal were last competing in Europe’s most distinguished club competition. The UK has burned through four Prime Ministers, a global pandemic has gripped the world, and an entire Thai football team were rescued from the flooded Tham Luang Cave, and the list goes on… As one of England’s most historic clubs, the Gunners faithful certainly wouldn’t have anticipated that their team would have to endure a six-year hiatus from the Champions League. Losing the Godfather of modern football, Arsene Wenger during that period left the North Londoners with an onerous task at hand when finding a suitable replacement.

Bypassing the troubled times under Unai Emery, and the acquisition of Mikel Arteta looks increasingly like a stroke of profound genius. The Spaniard has brought a Guardiola-inspired brand of football to the Emirates, and with arguably, one of the youngest and most exciting squads in the Premier League, it is no surprise that Arsenal are back where they belong; battling it out with Europe’s elite for the ultimate prize. With the London Borough of Islington set to host the Champions League once again, let’s take a trip down Memory Lane, and revisit the last Arsenal team that participated in the tournament in a 1-5 defeat to Bayern Munich…

All stats included in this article are according to Transfermarkt unless stated otherwise.

The Colombian shot-stopper had a nightmarish couple of weeks occupying the sticks for Arsenal. The acrobatic South American was no match for the pure, unrelenting firepower of Bayern Munich over the two-legged affair of the Last 16, shipping 10 goals in the process.

Exiting the Emirates just over two years after that dismal night, the goalkeeper moved on to Napoli, spending three years with the Neapolitans. Now 35, Ospina is currently plying his trade alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabian side, Al-Nassr, and even won the League’s Goalkeeper of the Month Award in October 2022. Still representing both club and country, the ex-Nice man recently became Colombia’s most-capped player ever.

RB: Hector Bellerin

Perhaps the most cockney-sounding Spaniard of all time, Hector Bellerin is an instantly likeable character and has a disarming humbleness. Having risen through the ranks at Arsenal, the right-back bid the club an emotional farewell back in 2022, when he left the club permanently for the side whose La Masia setup gave him a start in football in FC Barcelona.

As of the 2023 summer transfer window. Bellerin’s short-term contract with the Catalonians expired, which saw him make the switch to fellow La Liga side, Real Betis. Bellerin has developed a reputation for being forthright, and outspoken when it comes to contentious topics in recent times and has regularly promoted charitable causes, from voicing his allyship with those in the LGBTQ+ community to being ardently in favour of a Spanish and Catalonian union.

CB: Shkodran Mustafi

The World Cup-winning German’s experience of English football was a real mixed bag with Arsenal, playing for the club between 2016 and 2021. Returning to Germany to join up with struggling Schalke, before moving to Spain to turn out for Levante, a stroke of torrid luck would see the player relegated with both clubs in consecutive campaigns. The 6’, 31-year-old centre-half is now with Greek Premier League side, Aris, having joined the club in 2023.

CB: Laurent Koscielny

Frenchman, Laurent Koscielny’s evening on 7th March 2017 was worse than most. The centre-back gave away a penalty before being unceremoniously red-carded at 1-1, leaving his teammates chasing shadows with 10-men, and captainless. After spending nine years with the Gunners, Koscielny left in 2019, joining Ligue 1 side, Bordeaux. Announcing his retirement from the game in 2022, the former France international is currently still an employee of Bordeaux and operates in an ambassadorial, and representative capacity for the club, providing talks, speeches, and building relations for his former club side.

Left-back, Nacho Monreal was straight out of the Gary Neville playbook. The Spanish fullback was a consistent, steady presence in the mid-2010s Arsenal side and would always deliver a solid 7/10 performance week-in-week-out. Capped 22 times for his country, the player brought in from Osasuna in 2013 spent six years with the Arsenal before returning to mainland Spain with Real Sociedad.

Like his old teammate, Koscielny, Monreal hung up his boots in 2022 citing a recurring knee issue as the reason. Since retirement came calling, Monreal began working for sports agency, Global Ases, who represent a whole roster of players playing in the Spanish professional leagues. In addition, the Arsenal defender has also been working as a La Liga ambassador, travelling both internationally and domestically to give talks.

Granit Xhaka’s time at Arsenal was quite the journey. The Swiss international’s redemption arc was like no other, booed off in 2019 after telling his own fans to “f**k off” in the process, to turning the status quo on its head by spearheading the club’s title charge during the 2022-23 campaign, and once again endearing himself to fans.

Following seven years in North London, the central defensive midfielder said his goodbyes and joined up with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen during the 2023 summer transfer window for £21 million. The combative, hot-headed midfielder has featured in all five of Leverkusen’s game so far this season, and it will be a shock to no one that he has already recorded a yellow card.

CM: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain

Despite spending his career playing sporadically while being in and out of the treatment room, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has still managed to carve out a seriously respectable career for himself, albeit away from Arsenal. The versatile, forward-thinking talent spent six years at Arsenal, before leaving for Jurgen Klopp’s project on Merseyside.

At 31, the former Southampton prodigy is now playing his football in Turkey for giants, Besiktas, and the player will certainly be hoping he can not only keep fit, but help the club mount a serious title challenge, and reclaim the Süper Lig crown they last won two years ago. Thus far, the early signs are looking promising with the player playing in four of the club’s first five games after returning from an elongated absence due to a hamstring issue.

LCM: Aaron Ramsey

The Welsh wiz was a fan favourite at the Emirates, having spent over a decade at Arsenal, racking up 369 appearances for the club. Leaving in 2019, subsequent moves to Juventus, Rangers, and Nice were all relatively fruitless, with the player struggling for form and battling injury. The summer 2023 transfer window brought the player back home to where it all began 24 years ago. Rejoining Cardiff City on a free transfer, the midfield man is still scoring goals both domestically and internationally with Wales, having registered three in just seven games so far this term.

The lad who famously received his first England call-up at the age of 16 was always destined for a successful career, and while it was perhaps not as prosperous as many may have expected, the Southampton-born winger still won three major honours with the Gunners during his 12-year stint with the club. Walcott was the only Arsenal player to feature on the scoresheet during that evening’s humbling.

Like his ex-Arsenal counterpart, Aaron Ramsey, Walcott would make a return to his old stomping ground in Southampton in 2020. Upon the conclusion of the 2022-2023 campaign, Walcott announced his retirement from professional football with immediate effect at the age of 34. As a natural orator, Walcott claimed on Sky’s The Overlap, that he was looking to get into the media, and was in negotiations with Sky Sports about joining the team as a pundit.

LW: Alexis Sanchez

During his early days as a Gunner, the mercurial Chilean was exceptional, and regularly set the Premier League alight at the Emirates. While the 2016-17 campaign was the beginning of the players steep decline, he would still display glimpses of star quality, having netted in the reverse fixture just two weeks earlier.

Following a disastrous move to Manchester United, Sanchez has played for both Inter Milan and Marseille since and is now currently back at the San Siro running out for the Nerazurri. At the age of 34, retirement may well be on the horizon, and the player certainly isn’t underprepared for life after football, as he currently oversees the production and exportation of wine from his three vineyards in Italy, Argentina, and Chile.

Olivier Giroud’s time in North London can be characterised by two things; his immense portfolio of truly mesmerising goals, and that “I can’t change that I’m gorgeous” Rainbow Laces advert. The World Cup-winning Frenchman has enjoyed quite the illustrious career, and while his consistency has not always been ever-present, the striker has nine major honours to his name, including the Champions League and Europa League.

Infamously leaving Arsenal for Chelsea in 2018, Giroud perhaps isn't considered in the fondest light among Arsenal fans, having since gone on to play for AC Milan where he is still playing today. At 36, you’d be forgiven for thinking Giroud is spending his final few years in professional football on the bench, however, the France star is still very much in favour in Northern Italy. Away from football, Giroud has been using his riches to invest in startups, along with ex-teammate N’Golo Kante.