ARSENAL have missed out on a place at the Club World Cup after crashing out of the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta’s men were confident of victory at Bayern Munich after a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
But the Gunners were blunted in Bavaria as Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated the game.
And the Germans emerged victorious with a 1-0 win on the night thanks to a strike from Joshua Kimmich.
Arsenal will now return to England to lick their wounds, having also suffered a huge title blow with defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday.
However, things are only getting worse for the Gunners and their fans.
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That’s because they will not be joining Chelsea and holders Manchester City – themselves KO’d from Europe by Real Madrid on Wednesday – at the Club World Cup.
Next year’s expanded format will see 32 teams take part for the prestigious trophy.
And Arsenal needed to go all the way by winning this season’s Champions League to take part.
However, they have now been knocked out of both events as a result of their defeat in Munich.
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Instead, their spot will go to Austrian side RB Salzburg.
They’ve never won a European trophy and have only ever made it out of the Champions League group stage once.
However, they are the highest-ranked side in Uefa’s coefficient table, as only two teams per domestic league are allowed to qualify.
Italy are represented by Inter Milan and Juventus, while Germany have Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
Spain will see Real Madrid and Atletico take part, while Portugal boast both Benfica and Porto.
Other countries represented next year include the USA, Mexico, Japan and Brazil.
Teams playing in 2025 Club World Cup
All the sides who have qualified:
- Chelsea (England)
- Man City (England)
- Real Madrid (Spain)
- Atletico Madrid (Spain)
- Bayern Munich (Germany)
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
- PSG (France)
- Inter Milan (Italy)
- Juventus (Italy)
- Porto (Portugal)
- Benfica (Portugal)
- RB Salzburg (Austria)
- Palmeiras (Brazil)
- Flamengo (Brazil)
- Fluminense (Brazil)
- Auckland City (New Zealand)
- Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
- Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan)
- Al Ahly (Egypt)
- Wydad AC (Morocco)
- Monterrey (Mexico)
- Club León (Mexico)
- Seattle Sounders (USA)
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk