Mikel Arteta has been dealt a major blow to his summer transfer plans following Arsenal’s defeat to Bayern Munich. Thomas Tuchel’s side cruised past the Gunners at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening to book a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Joshua Kimmich put Bayern Munich ahead in the second half and, despite Arsenal’s best efforts, they couldn’t find an equaliser, losing 3-2 on aggregate. The north Londoners’ exit from the competition means they’ll miss out on the rebranded Club World Cup; a 32-team tournament which will take place in the United States in the summer of 2025.
After losing to the German giants, Arsenal surrendered the final spot to Red Bull Salzburg, who will be joining the three latest winners of the Champions League – Manchester City, Real Madrid and Chelsea. The remaining eight places are awarded to the teams with the highest UEFA coefficients over the last four years.
Atletico Madrid, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Inter Milan, Juventus, Porto and Benfica all qualified. While the Austrian champions have a lower coefficient than the likes of Barcelona, Napoli and Liverpool, only two clubs from one nation can be inducted.
However, if a country has more than two continental champions, the rule does not apply. In order to book a ticket to the United States and lock horns with the biggest clubs around the world, Arsenal were required to win the Champions League – something which they’ve never done before.
According to football finance journalist Łukasz Bączek, each club that features in the Club World Cup will receive a €50million (£43.1m) participation windfall, with the winner raking in €100m (£86.2m). Unfortunately for the Gunners, they’ve missed out on a tremendous opportunity to bolster their funds ahead of the summer transfer window.
“From everywhere, because of the reality is we don’t have a striker that is going to score 35 or 40 goals. So we have to live with that, we have many other qualities. Today is a day to stick behind the players, because they have given us so much and have taken us on this journey.”
