The Gunners have qualified for the Champions League 18 years in a row - but they have been disappointingly eliminated at the last 16 stage in the previous five seasons.
There is an unavoidable paradox when you look at Arsenal’s record in the Champions League under Arsene Wenger.
On the one hand, they have qualified for the Champions League 18 years in a row and reached the knockout stages of the competition for 15 consecutive seasons. It is a remarkable level of consistency, particularly for a Premier League club that at times has come under considerable pressure domestically for a top four finish.
Yet in that time the Gunners have never won the competition and competed in only one final and two semi-finals. It is a poor record and the kind of evidence that certain rivals might use to call Wenger a “specialist in failure”.
Wenger would argue that fine margins can tip the scales when analysing his performance in the Champions League.
In the final against Barcelona in 2006, Arsenal led with 10 men until Samuel Eto’o’s equaliser in the 76th minute. Perhaps it could have been very different had goalkeeper Jens Lehmann not been sent off less than 20 minutes into the game that evening.
But the fact is that Arsenal have consistently underperformed in the Champions League, even when they were at the top of the tree in England with Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.
One regret commonly expressed by Sir Alex Ferguson is that he only won the Champions League twice during his historic spell with Manchester United.
So how do we judge Wenger among Europe’s elite and how do we assess his chances of changing that record this season?
The final in May will mark a decade since that single final appearance against Barcelona in Paris - but no-one is holding out for Arsenal to be in the San Siro.
If history has repeated itself in the Premier League for Arsenal over the last few years, that has been even more the case in Europe.
Wenger’s side have been knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage in the previous five years and it is hard to see that changing this season as they prepare for group stage matches against Bayern Munich, Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos.
Arsenal’s campaigns in Europe’s elite competition have followed a familiar pattern. They usually have little problem progressing out of their group but looked doomed to failure as soon as they enter the knockout stages.
That is partly down to the draws they have been handed. Having finished second in their group in four of the last five seasons, their last 16 ties have usually been against group winners.
The likes of Barcelona, Bayern and Milan have blown them away, while when they seemed to get a fortunate draw last year, they froze and were knocked out by Monaco.
The disastrous performance in the home leg against the Ligue 1 side summed up why so many Arsenal supporters have now given up hope of Wenger ever winning the Champions League with the club.
It showed, for a start, Wenger’s tactical stubbornness in sticking to his attacking philosophy even against the best teams in the world. Trying to out-football the likes of Bayern and Barcelona is suicide but Arsenal rarely seem able to change their approach.
Wenger has a chance to show that he has learned his lesson as Arsenal prepare for two Group F matches against German champions Bayern.
Having been demoted to Pot 2 this year, Wenger might have feared the worst when his team drew Pep Guardiola's men but they will still expect to reach the knockout rounds for the 16th year in a row.
With the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in attack, they easily have the quality to overcome Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos.
But few will back Wenger to change his very consisent European record in any respect.
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