On Wednesday night, Arsenal became the only team in the Champions League to win all eight of their league phase matches, defeating Kairat Almaty with goals from Viktor Gyokeres, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli. This achievement means that the Gunners will proceed directly to the last 16, a feat they had already secured with a game to spare, bypassing the tricky play-off round.
They will also host the second legs of the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, should they progress. This could potentially be more significant than the substantial prize money, which will boost Arsenal’s funds ahead of the summer transfer window or, if they choose to use it, in the final days of the winter window.
A staggering £2.14billion is available in Europe’s premier club competition, and Arsenal have already earned more money than any other team.
Each of the 36 participants receives a base fee of £16.18million, while clubs that also secure a top-eight finish and advance directly to the last 16 earn an additional £9.56m.
Each victory in the league phase is worth £1.82m, and Arsenal, naturally, secured eight of these after defeating Athletic Bilbao, Olympiacos, Atletico Madrid, Slavia Prague, Bayern Munich, Club Brugge, Inter Milan and FC Kairat. These victories alone amounted to a total of £14.56m.
Additionally, clubs receive £239,000 per position in the final league standings. For example, Kairat took home this amount as they finished in 36th place, at the bottom of the table.
Arsenal, as the top team, pocketed around £8.6m for their position, bringing their prize money total to £48.9m so far.
If the Gunners progress to the quarter-finals, they would receive an additional £10.85m, while semi-finalists also secure a further £13m.
Finalists, with this year’s final match set to be played at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, will earn an extra £16.07m, and finally, the competition winners will receive a bonus of £5.64m.
Therefore, Arsenal could potentially earn another £45.56m if they were to go all the way and win the Champions League for the first time in their history.