Arsenal have hidden £42m Edu incentive to beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League

Arsenal will miss out on a guaranteed £42million if they exit the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich this evening.

Mikel Arteta's side are level on aggregate after the first leg in North London as a second-half strike by Leandro Trossard ensured a 2-2 draw. Victory in Germany will guarantee the Gunners a spot in the last four where they will face either Manchester City or Real Madrid.

While Champions League glory is the main ambition, Arsenal know they will miss out on a windfall that sporting director Edu would welcome if they not only fail to win tonight but also miss out on winning the competition entirely. Should Arteta's men win the Champions League, they would qualify for the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup.

UEFA shall have 12 teams representing them in the United States next year after FIFA chose to expand their competition. Three spots have already been secured by Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester City for winning the past three iterations of the Champions League.

Whoever wins the Champions League this year will also be guaranteed a spot. However, out of the remaining clubs in the Champions League, only Arsenal are not already guaranteed a place in the tournament.

This is because Borussia Dortmund and PSG as well as; Bayern Munich, Inter, Porto, Benfica, Juventus and Atletico Madrid have all qualified thanks to their UEFA coefficient rankings over the past four years. Should Arsenal fail to win the Champions League, they would not be given the extra space at the Club World Cup because only two teams from each nation can qualify for the competition.

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However, the exception to the rule is if three clubs from the same nation win the Champions League. In this instance, they would all qualify for the tournament.

Thus, if Arsenal were not to win the Champions League, their place in the US would be taken by RB Salzburg despite Liverpool, RB Leipzig, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and AC Milan all ranking higher than them. This is because the qualifying spots in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A have all been assigned.

Clubs who qualify for the Club World Cup shall gain €50m (£42.6m) automatically while the winners will receive a whopping €100m (£85.4m) in prize money. So for Arsenal, it goes to show how lucrative this tournament is.