What happens if Arsenal or Man City win the Champions League? How UCL qualification works for Premier League teams in 2024

Manchester City and Arsenal are both in the latter stages of the Champions League as they booked their place in the quarterfinals with wins over FC Copenhagen and Porto respectively.

Pep Guardiola's side have been drawn to face the second favourites of the competition, Real Madrid, meanwhile, the Gunners will take on Bayern Munich.

The semifinal draw has also been mapped out and will Arsenal and City will meet if they each progress.

With both sides all but guaranteed to finish in the top four of the Premier League, which secures them Champions League qualification next season, what would happen if either of them were to win the competition as well?

The Sporting News explains how a fifth-placed team could qualify for next season's new format Champions League. 

Real Madrid vs Man City head-to-head record

If a Premier League club were to win the UEFA Champions League, that would see them automatically qualify for the group stage of next season's competition regardless of their league finishing position.

Given that Arsenal and City have almost certainly clinched a Champions League qualification spot by finishing inside of the top four in the Premier League, it's more valuable to look at what may happen if they were to win the UCL as well. 

The Premier League's official website states that if a club wins the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League and finishes in the top four of the Premier League, their qualification spot for the UCL through their league position is not transferred to a team that finishes outside of the top four.

However, that does not rule out the possibility of a fifth-place Premier League side playing in the Champions League next year. That's because of the new format of the tournament, which rewards