Why Arsenal's Champions League win is good news for Liverpool as Arne Slot receives huge favor

Arsenal is the only Premier League side to have secured a place in the Champions League quarter-finals so far, with Liverpool hoping to join the Gunners on Wednesday

Mikel Arteta's side booked their Champions League quarter-final spot(Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport, CameraSport via Getty Images)

Liverpool will be quietly satisfied to see Premier League rival Arsenal progress to the Champions League quarter-finals at Bayer Leverkusen's expense. The Gunners were locked at 1-1 following the first leg in Germany, courtesy of Kai Havertz's 89th-minute penalty at the BayArena.

This left Arsenal needing a victory of any margin at the Emirates Stadium to advance to the next round. Eberechi Eze broke the Bundesliga side's resistance in the 36th minute with a thunderous right-footed strike into the top corner, before Declan Rice wrapped up a 3-1 aggregate victory with a composed second-half finish.

Arsenal's progression sets up a quarter-final clash against Sporting, who remarkably overturned a 3-0 first-leg deficit with a stunning 5-0 second-leg victory. This represents welcome news for their English rivals, despite none of them wishing to see the north London club lift the Champions League trophy for the first time in their history.

The result makes it almost certain that the Premier League will be awarded a fifth Champions League spot this season.

Each campaign, UEFA grants an additional place — the European Performance Spot — to two nations whose clubs have collectively outshone their continental counterparts in European competition.

England leads the UEFA coefficient rankings, with Spain in second place and Germany third. The Premier League entered the knockout stages with nine clubs competing across the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League — at least three more sides than any other nation, reports the Daily Star.

Arne Slot's side can breathe a sigh of relief with fifth place now looking like a Champions League spot(Image: PETER POWELL, AFP via Getty Images)

However, concerns arose over that coveted fifth spot slipping following the first legs, when none of the six Premier League clubs managed a victory in the Champions League. Arsenal drew with Leverkusen, whilst Newcastle secured a 1-1 draw against Barcelona at St James' Park.

As Liverpool suffered a narrow defeat at Galatasaray, Tottenham and Chelsea were convincingly beaten by Atletico Madrid and PSG respectively. Manchester City also endured a three-goal defeat at Real Madrid.

Chelsea (8-2 vs PSG on aggregate) and City (5-1 vs Real on aggregate) were both knocked out on Tuesday, as Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals. And whilst the Gunners could find themselves as the sole Premier League representative in the next round, the fact they eliminated a German club carries considerable weight for Liverpool and others.

Germany sits third in the rankings, but it is virtually impossible for them to overtake England following Leverkusen's exit. Bayern Munich remains the only Bundesliga side left in the competition, whilst none of the three German clubs in the Europa League hold a first-leg advantage.

With fifth place in the Premier League also likely to guarantee Champions League qualification this season, courtesy of Arsenal, Manchester United will now be increasingly confident of returning to Europe's elite competition. The Red Devils hold a five-point advantage over fifth-placed Liverpool, and are six points clear of Chelsea in sixth.

Arsenal's triumph is also welcome news for Liverpool and Arne Slot, who failed to beat struggling Wolves or Tottenham in their past two outings and appear destined for a difficult fight with Villa and Chelsea for the remaining two Champions League berths.

The Reds could be knocked out of this year's competition on Wednesday, needing a two-goal win over Galatasaray at Anfield to advance. After that, they make the trip to Brighton, who are presently 12th, on Saturday.