Why are Arsenal playing in the Champions League on a Thursday?

ARSENAL have picked up from where they left off last season after making a superb start to the new campaign.

The Gunners will be hoping they can take their recent good form in the Premier League into Europe this week.

Arsenal bowed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage last season after losing to German giants Bayern Munich over two-legs.

This term, Mikel Arteta will be hoping he can be the man to guide the Gunners to the club's first-ever European Cup.

And Arsenal get their Champions League campaign underway against Atalanta on Thursday - but what's the reason behind the unusual date for the fixture?

Why are Arsenal playing in the Champions League on a Thursday?

Arsenal's Champions League opener away at Atalanta this week is one of six fixtures not taking place on the traditional Tuesday or Wednesday - the two days that the competition usually takes place.

It comes as part of a Uefa revamp, which has seen the regular 32-team group stage transformed into a 36-side league phase in the Champions League this season.

Both the Europa League and the Conference League will also follow the new format.

To avoid a heavily congested European calendar, Uefa has revealed that each of their three competitions will have a single exclusive matchweek during which fixtures from the other two tournaments will not be played.

This will allow more matches to be highlighted and fans to tune in to competitions they may not have previously watched.

The Champions League's exclusive matchweek is matchweek one, meaning the 18 fixtures will be spread evenly across three nights from Tuesday, September 17 to Thursday, September 19.

And Arsenal's away trip to Europa League champions Atalanta has been selected for the Thursday night, just three days before the Gunners' heavyweight clash against Manchester City in the Premier League.

Aside from matchweek one, the only other Champions League matchweek that differs from the traditional Tuesday-Wednesday format is the final one, where all 18 matches will kick off simultaneously at 8pm GMT on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

What are Arsenal's Champions League fixtures?

Here are all of Arsenal's eight fixtures for the brand-new league phase:

Thursday, September 19
Atalanta vs Arsenal
Gewiss Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Tuesday, October 1
Arsenal vs Paris Saint-Germain
Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Tuesday, October 22
Arsenal vs Shakhtar Donetsk
Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Wednesday, November 6
Inter Milan vs Arsenal
San Siro
Kick-off: 8pm

Tuesday, November 26
Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal
Jose Alvalade Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Wednesday, December 11
Arsenal vs Monaco
Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Wednesday, January 22
Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb
Emirates Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm

Wednesday, January 29
Girona vs Arsenal
Estadi Montilivi
Kick-off: 8pm