Arsenal vs Real Sociedad Tickets

Arsenal’s European history, at least in terms of the UEFA Champions League and its predecessor, the European Cup, has been something of relative failure.

If you judge their success purely on the number of times they’ve qualified for the big European tournament, then there’s is a history of success, but having never lifted the famous trophy, there is certainly a sense among Gunners fans that there is a great deal of unfinished business to deal with.

During Arsene Wenger’s lengthy reign as Arsenal boss, the North London club were nearly an ever-present presence in the competition and almost always made it out of the group phase, but it’s when they met the truly big guns in the knockout stages that things usually went pear-shaped.

Incredibly, during a 14-season run between 2003/04 and 2016/17, Arsenal were never sent packing in the group stage.

The knockouts was a different story. Where they have been dumped out by some major teams, four times by Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona and once each by Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, AS Monaco, and Chelsea.

Some of those defeats were very narrow in nature. Take, for instance, their 2011/12 tie with AC Milan. They went down 4-0 at the San Siro and then fought back to win 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, only just missing out on pushing the clash into extra-time.

Two of their losses to Barcelona were tinged with a sense of unfairness, but then, in marked contrast, some defeats were entirely justified. The 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich was surely particularly painful for Arsene Wenger, but Mikel Arteta will hope to rectify the situation and right some of those wrongs, with the Spaniard having brought the club back to the competition after a six-season spell away from the top table.

Real Sociedad are clearly not a Spanish side in the same league as the likes of FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid, but they have nonetheless achieved a great deal, relatively speaking, given their size and stature.

Back-to-back La Liga titles in the early 80s saw them make their first appearances in the European Cup, with the second of those seeing them fight all the way to the Semi-Finals. It took more than two decades to return to the competition, and in their first foray into the UEFA Champions League, they were commendable as they fought through their group phase before losing to Lyon in the Round of 16.

Another decade on, they returned to the competition but finished rock bottom of their group, having lost all six games and 2023/24. A further ten years on from their last appearance, Imanol Alguacil took his side back into the competition.

Arsenal vs Real Sociedad Head-to-Head

Arsenal and Real Sociedad have never met in competitive action, and that adds further spice to an already enticing match-up.

Arsenal vs Real Sociedad Connections

Only a few players have competed for both Arsenal and Real Sociedad, but those that have done so have left an indelible mark on the two teams.

Spanish defender Nacho Monreal moved to Arsenal from Malaga in 2013 and quickly became a fan favourite and racked up 251 appearances for the club before leaving in 2020 to see out his career in the Basque Country. He made 85 appearances for the club and helped them to a Copa del Rey title in 2019/20.

Norwegian midfield maestro Martin Odegaard was brought to Spain by Real Madrid in 2015 as a teenager with an abundance of obvious talent and potential.

However, he struggled to force his way into the first-team set-up, and it was his successful loan spell at the Anoeta Stadium that helped shape his career.

Odegaard made 36 appearances in the 2019/20 season for Sociedad, winning the Spanish cup for the club, before Arsenal brought the player in for an initial loan deal before persuading Real Madrid to sell him outright in 2021, and he has gone on to become a key player at the Emirates Stadium and was made the club captain for the 2022/23 season, during which he scored 15 Premier League goals from midfield.