Arsenal will return to the Champions League for the first time since 2017 next season. The Gunners' confirmation of their involvement in the tournament came on Wednesday, despite losing 4-1 to Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta's side were brushed aside with little trouble at the Etihad Stadium to see their title ambitions slip out of their hands for the first time all season. Man City are now only two points behind the north Londoners with two games in hand, with many expecting the champions to retain their title.
Despite the difficult evening in Manchester, Arsenal were granted some good news thanks to Nottingham Forest. Steve Cooper's side took a huge step towards Premier League safety with a 3-1 victory over Brighton, a result that ensured the Gunners have now qualified for next season's Champions League.
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Next campaign's involvement will be the first time the club will take on some of Europe's best teams since losing 10-2 on aggregate to Bayern Munich seven years ago. In fact, the club has not progressed past the last 16 since 2010.
Alongside the historic nights and opportunity to face some of Europe's best players, the competition does include a hefty financial windfall. The Gunners owner Stan Kroenke has invested in the playing staff in recent windows with 14 players signed in the past two seasons.
Returning to Europe's greatest stage would provide additional funds to be spent, but how much is exactly available for the Gunners? By using this season's prize money allocation, the financial pull is massive when compared to the Europa League.
Of the €3.5billion (£3.02billion) gross revenue available for distribution to participating sides, €2.03billion (£1.75billion) of it is shared out to clubs competing in the Champions League with €2billion (£1.73billion) of that sum made available for clubs in the group stage onwards.
In the 2022/23 season, the 32 clubs in the group stage received a starting fee of €15.6million (£13.5million). Performance bonuses are available for victories and defeats - €2.8million (£2.4million) for a win and €930,000 (£802,000) for a draw. When comparing Arsenal's group stage results this term, £35million would have been earned just for their performance in the group stage and qualification to the last-16.
An additional €10.6million (£9.1million) is given to quarter-finalists and €12.5million (£10.7million) for those who reach the semi-finals. Finalists receive €15.5million (£13.3million) with €4.5million (£3.8million) for the champions. The champions of Europe eventually come out with around £70milllion - depending on group stage results - before coefficient shares and market pool funds are sorted.
Should Arsenal avoid any further slip-ups in the final month of the season, they will enter the competition automatically for the group stage. That means Kroenke will be greeted with £35million from the off to spend on new recruits.
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