Amongst all the angst currently surrounding this season, for what it’s worth and for anyone not quite sure, here are some details regarding the new format of qualification for the Champions League next season - as far as can be ascertained from UEFA’s website

It means we do not take part in the third qualifying round any more and the winners of those third round ties qualify for the group stage as before, except for teams involved in five games which will automatically include the runners up from:-

Russia (Dynamo Moscow)
Holland
Portugal
Ukraine
Scotland
Greece
Turkey
Rumania
Czechoslovakia
Belgium
- all of whom who do not compete in rounds 1 and 2

Arsenal, along with a team from Spain, Italy, France and Germany then arrive automatically into the separate play off round with the five winners of the ties between the teams from the above, so you have 10 teams and five ties to decide who else will make the group stages.

The dates for Arsenal’s games will be as follows -
Play-off round, 1st leg 18/19 August 2009
Play-off round, 2nd leg 25/26 August 2009

So it will be Arsenal vs one of the following:-
A 4th placed team from Spain or Italy, a 3rd placed team from France or Germany, or one of the winners from the ties between the runners up from the ten countries listed above.

Clear? Thought so!