Arsenal face Chelsea in the FA Cup final this weekend knowing it is their last chance of securing passage to European football for next season.
The Gunners finished eighth in the Premier League this term—their worst position since 1995.
Mikel Arteta was only appointed manager during the winter but has steered the side to within 90 minutes of silverware.
Yet Arsenal will be without a European campaign for the first time in 25 years unless they beat Chelsea at Wembley on Saturday.
Plenty is therefore at stake for the north London side, who lost to Chelsea in last season’s Europa League final to miss out on a spot in the Champions League.
Could history repeat itself this time around and frustrate Arteta’s plans for the new season?
And is playing in a second-tier European competition even worth the trouble?
Here, i looks at the costs and benefits of competing in the 20/21 Europa League…
How much will Arsenal earn in Europa League?
Taking a look at the money side first, there is a clear incentive for Arsenal to be in the Europa League—so long as they are successful.
Should the Gunners beat Chelsea they would earn £3.6m in FA Cup prize money and automatic progress to the Europa League group stage, where they will receive a base fee from UEFA of around £2.6m.
Now, assuming coronavirus advice changes so fans can enter stadiums this autumn and Arsenal can fill the Emirates for all three home group games, they would earn an estimated £7.5m from matchday income.
In total, before Arsenal have even kicked a ball in Europe, winning the FA Cup could secure them a tidy £13.7m.
Reaching 20/21 Europa League group stage
- FA Cup win: £3.6m
- Europa League group stage: £2.6m
- Gate receipts (based on non-Covid conditions): £7.5m
Potential minimum earnings: £13.7m
That fee is relatively small to a Premier League giant such as Arsenal—but it’s certainly not to be sniffed at. After all, clubs usually earn around £10m for their pre-season tours, which have all been cancelled this summer due to the coronavirus.
Progress is paramount
But what is important for Arteta and the club is that they progress through the Europa League, because only then is it truly financially worthwhile.
UEFA grant £900,000 for every win secured in the group stage, meaning there is £5.4m up for grabs if the Gunners go all-out this autumn.
UEFA then provides more prize money for each stage of the knockout rounds a team passes, all the way to the final.
Winning the Europa League lands the champions a £7.6m cheque, to add to the prize money already awarded.
Winning 20/21 Europa League
- FA Cup win: £3.6m
- Europa League group stage: £2.6m
- Gate receipts (based on non-Covid conditions): £18.5
- Group wins: £3m
- Top group: £900,000
- Round of 32: £450,000
- Round of 16: £990,000
- Quarter-finals: £1.3m
- Semi-finals: £2.1m
- Winners: £7.6m
Potential Europa League earnings: £41m
Now, throw in additional gate receipts from four home knockout games, and Arsenal could stand to earn £41m by winning the Europa League—and that cash could be crucial to the team as clubs tighten their belts post-Covid.
What’s more, winning the tournament next year also earns Arsenal direct passage into the more lucrative Champions League, where Liverpool earned over £110m by winning the competition in 2018/19.
Negatives of Europa League competition
The Thursday-Sunday issues Premier League teams face when competing in the Europa League are well known.
After all, trying to compete for the title or a top-four place in England is tricky enough as it is, without the added drain of long-haul European trips just three days before weekend games.
It is a cycle teams like Arsenal and Tottenham have got stuck in in the past. The Europa League fixtures drag on Premier League performances, resulting in an inability to fight for the championship.
The Champions League is worth over £100m to clubs who reach all the way to the final, and that’s before gate receipts are taken into account. What’s more, each Premier League position is worth an additional £2.5m in prize money.
But this is sport and teams are not likely to throw away matches simply to avoid playing in a European competition. And Arsenal will head into the Europa League intent on winning it.
How winning FA Cup will affect Arsenal transfers
Therefore winning the FA Cup is more than simply a grand day out for the Arsenal players. Even if gate receipts cannot be factored in due to Covid, competing in the Europa League will earn Arsenal between £6.2m and £22.5m over the course of the season.
This may not be enough to buy a star-studded player of the likes of Nicolas Pepe or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on its own.
But the cash could certainly help the club keep their top performers on decent wages. Aubameyang is one of six players whose contract expires in the summer of 2021.
Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil, David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos are the other big-name players would could leave unless new contracts are offered.
It might not be a case of Arsenal plundering the transfer market with their European revenues, but simply plugging the gaps in their current team.
Behind-closed-doors concerns
But that could still be more than what most teams have to play with.
After all, revenue streams at Premier League clubs are set to tumble in 20/21 if fans are not able to access games. Arsenal’s matchday revenue is estimated to be worth around £96m annually.
And that lack of income will severely hurt clubs across the board. Only Manchester United rake in more matchday revenue than the Gunners, while both Tottenham and Liverpool have experienced upturns of late.
So, if Arsenal aren’t able to fill seats and sell corporate boxes at the Emirates next season then the club will have to look around for other income streams.
And that could come from a Europa League adventure.
Follow i sport on Facebook for more Arsenal news, interviews and features
More on Arsenal
- Cunningham: Arsenal’s players should ask for their money back after Kroenke’s £325m windfall
- Is it really worth it? Arsenal need to take a long, hard look at their relationship with this super agent
- Opinion: What Arsenal’s ‘nauseous’ statement on Ozil and China says about the club
- The road to 2024: How a new Champions League format could leave Arsenal high and dry
- Magee: Arsenal’s Europa League exit shows Arteta cannot work miracles with this squad
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/30hRpio
Post a Comment