Arsenal have more than just pride at stake in their Europa League campaign. Having been drawn against Sporting CP for the last-16 following a remarkable 4-0 second leg victory over Midtjylland it is a tie of reunions.
Former right-back Hector Bellerin will face the side he spent more than a decade with whilst Fabio Vieira is set for an immediate trip back to the stadium he left over the summer. Given the new format of the competition it is one of the strongest pools of teams left at this stage of the competition though and there will be no room for mercy.
The Europa League may feel like a distraction for Arsenal due to their unexpected Premier League title chase. At the start of the season it was perhaps seen as more likely that winning the competition would get them into the Champions League than finishing in the top four.
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That appears to be all but sewn up now which means that it is something of a free hit for Mikel Arteta and his men in Europe for the rest of the season. Having only won the Cup Winners' Cup before in Europe - if you exclude the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970 - there is incentive from that aspect as well as making what is already a stellar season even better.
Given the strength of the campaign so far and the pressure being put on them for the title it would potentially be anti-climactic should no trophy be lifted come May. The Europa League is a chance to secure this silverware but it may also act as more to Stan Kroenke.
The monetary gain from winning European ties is lucrative. Arsenal have already made £2.86million from the group stage. With £572,000 available per win in the group stage it was nearly a perfect bonus for the club.
As well as that Arsenal will pocket an extra £1.1million simply for playing in the round of 16. This is not their ultimate goal though. There is an additional £1.6million to be had for getting into the quarter-finals. Things ramp up from there again with £2.5million per semi finalist. Just reaching the final earns £4.2million whilst winning it takes that to £7.8million.
In total, should Arsenal get past Sporting and then go on to win the whole thing, they could earn a maximum of £15.86million from the competition, this is alongside £3.2million coming from just qualifying for the tournament, taking the potential total prize money up to £18.86million.
Given the financial power boasted by Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United, as well as possible ownership changes and more state-backing for other clubs including Liverpool, any advantage Arsenal can get from the competition will be well received by Kroenke.
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