Arsenal could be knocked out of two competitions in one night should they lose to Porto in the Champions League.
Premier League leaders Arsenal welcome Porto to the Emirates on Tuesday night, looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit and qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
Only about three weeks ago, Porto came out on top in a scrappy affair that saw more fouls than any other Champions League game this season, scoring in the dying moments of the game at the Estádio do Dragão to secure a much-needed win over Arteta’s men.
Meanwhile, ahead of Tuesday’s encounter, William Saliba said he was confident Arsenal could get a positive result against Porto. When asked if the Gunners have learned from their first-leg defeat,
Saliba said: “Yes. We know they are smart and have experience.
“We have to compete with that and now we are ready. We have to win and we will give everything — we can’t wait to play.”
Arsenal’s midfielder Declan Rice have also subsequently claimed that Arsenal needed to be more savvy, while manager Mikel Arteta urged his players to be street-wise.
However, in a peculiar turn of events, should Arsenal be knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday, it could also see their chances of qualifying for the Club World Cup in 2025 reduced.
The tournament is scheduled to take place next year in the United States from June 15 to July 13 and is set to include 32 teams, including the winners of the four previous continental championships.
The 12 teams qualifying from UEFA will include the winners of the Champions League between 2021 and 2024, as well as additional teams to be determined by a club ranking in those four years.
So far this means only Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City have automatically qualified for a spot in the revamped Club World Cup 2025.
Given Arsenal’s dismal UEFA coefficient ranking compared to their counterparts, however, they would need to win this term’s Champions League to have any chance of making it to the Club World Cup.
