Arsenal handed rare Champions League match on a THURSDAY night as new-look group stage fixtures are confirmed as part of competition's drastic shake-up

Arsenal will begin their Champions League campaign on a Thursday night as part of the raft of changes brought in to shake up the competition this season.

The fixtures and dates for the upcoming group stage have today been confirmed and a major overhaul will see clubs play matches across more slots than usual. 

Premier League quartet Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Manchester City will compete in the new-look 36-team league format, a first in the modern era. 

But to incorporate the increased number of sides in the elite competition, UEFA will now stage fixtures on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. 

Indeed, Mikel Arteta's side will be the first English outfit to play in the Champions League on a Thursday - a slot historically reserved for the Europa League and UEFA Conference League, the governing body's latest club tournament.

Arsenal will first travel to Atalanta, last season's Europa League winners, on September 19, four days after they take on rivals Tottenham on the previous Sunday. 

They will then face their top-flight title rivals Manchester City in a titanic clash at the Etihad three days later.

The vast majority of Champions League games will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as in recent seasons, but the first gameweek of this campaign - between September 17 and September 19 - has been billed as a 'Champions League exclusive week'.

No Europa League or Conference League games will be held on those days.

Arsenal will host PSG at the Emirates on October 1 in their second European fixture, followed by another game at home against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk.

They will then navigate back-to-back away games against Serie A champions Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon in their two matchdays in November.

Finally, they will round off the group phase against Monaco and Dinamo Zagreb at home and away at Girona across December and January. 

UEFA confirmed earlier this year that each European competition will get one exclusive gameweek - when only matches from that tournament will be staged - this season.

Teams who finish in the top eight of the Champions League will automatically qualify for the last-16 while those who place ninth to 24th will compete in a two-legged knockout play-off in a bid to progress to the same stage.

Last season, Arsenal were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

'Every game is going to be crucial,' Arteta said on this year's format. 'You want to finish as high as possible, and in order to do that you have to win every game. 

You can play against any opposition at any ground. That's great and it gives you a great chance to see very early in the season, where you are, what your level is and how much you have progressed through the competition. 

'Obviously, that's going to be elevated to a different level.'