Arsenal will miss out on the Club World Cup
Arsenal didn't qualify for the Club World Cup 2025. After losing against Bayern Munich 0:1, Arsenal also bowed out of the Champions League. Arsenal lost 3:2 in the first match held in Munich and, therefore, had no chance of staying in the League.
The news comes as a heartbreak for Arsenal fans, especially after the tough first game, when 3 points or at least one were so close. The defeat opens up a possibility for another German team to find their place in the Club World Cup.
Club World Cup Qualification
There are two ways for teams to qualify for the Club World Cup. The first is to win the Champions League at least once since 2021. The second is via a ranking system based on their performance in the tournament in the last four seasons.
Only two teams per nation can qualify unless the nation has three different UCL winners in the last four years. England has had two winners in the previous four years: Chelsea and Manchester City. Therefore, Arsenal needed the win in order to qualify, and now that it was eliminated, it's no longer an option.
A chance for Red Bull Salzburg
With Arsenal out, there's a chance for Red Bull Salzburg to qualify for the Club World Cup. Based on its performances in the past four years, the team has earned a spot among the 32 clubs that will take part in the World Cup.
The general manager of Red Bull Salzburg, Stephan Reiter, came out with a statement:
Our continually good performances in the UEFA Champions League over the past five years have made this possible, and our Austrian titles have allowed us to achieve that. We don't know all of the details of the tournament, but we know already that it will be a huge challenge. It will be a complete change to our pre-season plans with lots of additional travel and matches. We will approach that with our usual professionalism and great excitement. I think that taking part is not only a great honor for FC Red Bull Salzburg but also a recognition for the whole of Austrian club football, which has continually improved in recent years.
Club World Cup
Club World Cup is a new tournament organized by FIFA that's already attracting attention from online gambling and fans in general. Online gambling sites for Canadian players have already come up with odds for the tournament that's scheduled for next summer.
The Cup takes place in the US, and 32 teams will take part in it. At this point, 21 teams have already qualified, and we'll have to wait until the end of the season to find out what the remaining 11 will be. Many claim that the Cup is a welcome addition to the international football schedule, but some worry about the toll another international obligation will have on the players.
How Did Arsenal Lose?
Arsenal was very close to their European goals by holding on to 0:0 until the 63rd minute of the game when Joshua Kimmich secured Bayern a place in the semi-final. Bayern will now move on to a difficult match against Real Madrid, who took out Pep Guardiola's City at the Etihad on Wednesday evening.
For Arsenal, the focus now has to be on the next match of the Premier League and the efforts to prevent the City from keeping the title. This may be a challenge for the team, and the players still recovering from this disappointing outcome abroad.
Some have already tried to analyze what Arsenal did wrong and what needs to change to avoid the same mistakes.
A Young Squad
Arsenal was very proud of its young squad, and it has plenty of reasons to be. However, the downside to having a young team is the lack of experience that comes with it. For almost the whole team, these were some of the first games that they ever played in the Champions League, and it showed on the field.
The gunners were very conservative on the field, and it seemed as if they were afraid to take chances and risk it a little bit. This isn't surprising due to their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa or the 2-2 draw in the first leg a week earlier.
The team will grow into what it can be, but it takes time.
Problems in the Box
There was something wrong in the box, and Mikel Arteta has already addressed the problem publicly, but there will be some post-game discussion as well. There weren't nearly enough chances, and the few Arsenal members who managed to create were far and between.
With only one goal scored, it wasn't a very exciting game, but the initiative was on Bayern's side, and the result was well-deserved. Bayern had 15 shots on the goal, against Arsenal's 9. However, nine opportunities against a team such as Bayern is good enough, and Arsenal should have taken them.
Gabriel Martinelli, in particular, had plenty of chances to put his name out there but failed on all of them.
Not Learning From Past Mistakes
One of the best things about reverse fixtures is that teams meet twice, which gives both teams a chance to review their performance and change the strategy for the rematch. Arsenal didn't do that after the first match with Bayern.
The same could be said for the performance in the second half-time. After a bad first half, Bayern returned with a new approach, and Arsenal didn't change that much in their overall defensive approach. Such a game style didn't work against Bayern, at least not for long enough.
It's essentially important to have a dynamic team and a dynamic strategy that can be implemented at any time. Arsenal was stuck in its ways for the whole match.
Wasted Substitutions
There were enough substitutions throughout the game, and Arsenal had a deep bench, but in the end, they didn't do much to change the outcome or the approach in general.
Arsenal brought on Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard shortly after the hour mark and then gave Eddie Nketiah a few minutes towards the end.
Things may have worked out differently if Jesus was brought on earlier. The Brazilian could change the whole team with his game on the wing and more experience than almost everyone else on the squad, but there wasn't enough time.
As we said before, experience in the Champion's League can play a big role in team morale and impact the game on the field, and none of the substitutes brought that on time.
To Sum Up
Arsenal lost against Bayern Munich, which means it won't qualify for the Club World Cup that is coming up in 2025. Chances are that a smaller German team, Red Bull Salzburg, will qualify based on the point system FIFA has set up. Arsenal would need a win in the Champions League to qualify.
The game was already heavily analyzed, and there are a few obvious mistakes that the team will have to work on. These are mostly about a young and inexperienced squad, poor choice of substitution, and risk-averse strategy.
Published by Patrick Jane
22.04.2024