RC Lens and Arsenal are two European clubs who have walked markedly different paths on the international stage.
Racing Club Lens embarked on only two notable journeys in the UEFA Champions League, in the 1998/99 and 2002/03 seasons. On both occasions, their European adventure was marked by an inability to advance from the group stage. The Champions League landscape remains largely uncharted territory for them.
Meanwhile, Arsenal FC were practically an ever-present fixture in the Champions League during Arsene Wenger’s reign at the North London club. They’ve never won the competition but were losing finalists in the 2005/06 season, beaten 2-1 by FC Barcelona despite leading for much of the game.
Since Wenger’s departure, Arsenal featured more in the UEFA Europa League. They reached the Europa League final in 2019 but were beaten 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku.
Lens vs Arsenal Head to Head
Lens and Arsenal were drawn against one another in the 2023/24 Champions League group stage. The first encounters between these two teams came in the 1998/99 edition of the tournament.
The French club secured a 1-1 draw in the group stage at home and pulled off a shock 1-0 win at Highbury. Neither team advanced to the knockout stages of the competition.
Arsenal got their revenge in the following season, when the two teams faced off in the 1999/00 UEFA Cup semi-final. The Gunners won the home leg 1-0 thanks to a goal from Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp. Goals from Thierry Henry and Nwankwo Kanu at the Stade Felix-Bollaert secured a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Lens vs Arsenal Connections
Despite Arsenal’s strong French presence, there aren’t any players who have represented both Lens and Arsenal. Frenchman Jeff Reine-Adélaïde was part of the Lens youth academy before joining Arsenal in 2016.
French goalkeeper Guillaume Warmuz spent ten years at Lens before moving to Arsenal in 2003. He never made an appearance in north London, moving to Borussia Dortmund six months later.
