The new Champions League continues to reserve little-known features and restrictions, especially in the draw phase: in addition to the already known restrictions, such as the ban on matches between teams from the same federation and the maximum limit of two opponents coming from the same foreign country, there is also an additional rule that directly involves Inter.
The reference is paragraph 16.03 of the UEFA regulations, established to avoid certain matches being repeated multiple times in the championship phase with the same host and transfer conditions: the rule establishes that the same match cannot be proposed for three consecutive seasons with the same team playing at home.
In other words, if two clubs have faced each other in the championship phase in the 2024/2025 season and again in 2025/2026 while maintaining the same home-away order, that pair cannot be drawn in the 2026/2027 season either.
Inter-Arsenal in Milan cannot be played for the third year in a row
Of all 144 matches played in the first two editions of the new Champions League, only three matches have met this special condition: Liverpool-Real Madrid at Anfield Road, Inter-Arsenal in Milan and Juventus-Benfica in Turin.
Juventus' case, however, will have no consequences, as the Bianconeri and the Portuguese have not qualified for this year's biggest continental tournament. This leaves only two matches that UEFA cannot draw:
Liverpool-Real Madrid with the Reds playing at home;
Inter-Arsenal with the black and blue at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.
For Inter this means that the clash with the Gunners cannot take place once again in front of the San Siro fans, as it has already been played in the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 editions in the same order.
UEFA rules are set to prevent Liverpool from being drawn at home to Real Madrid in this season's Champions League league phase ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 26, 2026
Arsenal-Inter could be played in the 2026-2027 Champions League: the reason
The ban, however, does not apply to the general match between the two teams. Inter can be drawn against Arsenal again, but only with the conditions reversed, that is, with the match to be played at the Emirates Stadium in London. The same principle applies to Liverpool and Real Madrid: the match at Anfield Road is prohibited, while a possible match at the Santiago Bernabéu remains a regular possibility.
This is a rule established to increase the variety of matches and to prevent the new phase of the championship from losing its appeal by re-proposing the same matches too often in the same stadiums. The rule, moreover, applies only to the championship phase: from the play-offs onwards and throughout the direct elimination phase, any match is once again allowed. For Inter fans, therefore, there is now a certainty on the eve of the draw: if the neroli are to face Arsenal again, this time the match will be played in London and not in Milan.
