What do Arsenal need to qualify for next season’s Champions League?

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·8 Mei 2025

What do Arsenal need to qualify for next season’s Champions League?

With Arsenal now out of the Champions League, the one thing left to play for this season is qualifying for next season’s competition.

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Arsenal might have hoped to qualify for next season’s Champions League by winning the competition itself, but those hopes ended with elimination to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

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As a result, Arsenal’s route to Champions League qualification is by finishing in the top five of the Premier League, with the Gunners currently second – but with tough games coming up against Liverpool and Newcastle.

Let’s take a look at how Arsenal can guarantee a top-five finish and start to think ahead to 2025/26.

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Arsenal are currently on 67 points with three games remaining. Since sixth-place Nottingham Forest (61 points) still have to play fifth-place Chelsea (63 points), it’s impossible for both of them to reach 70 points.

The worst-case scenario for Arsenal would be Forest winning all three games to hit 70 and Chelsea winning their other two matches to reach 69. That would mean Chelsea beating Newcastle, but if Newcastle beat Arsenal and Everton, they’d also reach 69 points.

Villa could reach 69 as well with three wins in their three games, none of which are against Champions League qualification rivals. But they can’t reach 70.

In other words, Arsenal need one win to hit 70 points and mathematically confirm Champions League football. But even two draws to reach 69 would likely be enough, given the Gunners’ goal difference advantage over Newcastle, Chelsea, and Villa.

And if any other teams drop points, or Chelsea’s games against Newcastle and Forest don’t go the right way, the task becomes even easier.

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The other thing Arsenal might be thinking about is trying to secure second place, given you earn more money for second versus fifth.

The calculation there is much simpler. Manchester City are Arsenal’s closest rivals and their maximum points tally is 73. If Arsenal win two games, they’d reach 73 and it would come down to goal difference, with the Gunners holding a nine-goal lead over City as it stands.

Two wins and a draw mathematically guarantees second place. Any dropped points by City would help.