That’s because Manchester City are facing a two-year ban from UEFA club competitions and despite appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), their appeal may not be heard in time for them to take part in the tournament next season.
City are all but certain to secure a top-four spot this term, sitting in second on 57 points, 12 ahead of United having played one match less.
But given that cancelling the season would have meant the current campaign’s standings were irrelevant, fifth-placed United would not have benefited from City’s Champions League ban.
Instead, the final standings of the 2018-19 season would have made up the teams qualifying for Europe’s premier tournament next term, which would have meant Arsenal would have taken reigning champions City’s spot.
The FA’s ruling, however, removes that possibility and so to play in the Champions League next season, Arsenal must simply finish fourth (or fifth, though City could have the ban overturned).
The odds are against Mikel Arteta’s men doing so, despite being unbeaten in eight top-flight outings in 2020 and enjoying the joint-longest winning run in the division of three matches.
That is because their fixture list pits them against a number of tricky challenges.
