Arsenal lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich and were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarterfinal stage. The elimination, however, isn't a single disappointment of the evening for the Gunners.
By losing out on a Champions League semifinal, Arsenal are also officially out of the new Clubs' World Cup, set to take place in the summer of 2025.
Curiously, one team that is taking Arsenal's place is... RB Salzburg.
Modern football has weird ways. The Clubs' World Cup will consist of 32 teams from 6 confederations. All the slots allocated to Europe have now been claimed by: Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, Juventus, Benfica, Porto, Salzburg.
A maximum of two clubs from the same country can take part in the tournament. The only exception is if a team win a UEFA competition but doesn't qualify through the UEFA ranking over the four-year period.
This explains why Austrian powerhouse RB Salzburg are off to America in 2025. They have been pretty successful in lesser UEFA tournaments, while the top nations already have their quota in the tournament.
As we've said, modern football is weird. But at least clubs can see the funny side of it:
