How Arsenal beating Bayern Munich in Champions League helps Tottenham’s quest for European glory

Tottenham’s quest to secure Champions League football could hinge on the success of rivals Arsenal.

While Spurs fans will desperately need Mikel Arteta’s side to crash out of the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, they would actually benefit from a Gunners victory.

Ange Postecoglou’s men currently sit outside the top four in fifth place as they trail Aston Villa by three points.

But Spurs could end up securing a place in Europe’s revamped premier competition next season if they finish fifth – but they would need Arsenal to beat Bayern.

Both clubs head into their second leg at the Allianz Arena – live on talkSPORT – with scores 2-2 after last week’s four-goal thriller at the Emirates.

Explaining the crazy situation on the talkSPORT Breakfast show, European football expert Kevin Hatchard was asked why some Spurs supporters might reluctantly want Arsenal to do the business in Bavaria.

To which he replied: “Because of this race for coefficients that you have at the moment.

“It’s an unusual situation, isn’t it? So there will be an extra place in the Champions League next season for – we think – a German or English club.

“Italy is at the top, it will take one of the places, and it will be either England or Germany.

“So if Arsenal were to knock out Bayern, that would tip the balance in England’s favor because it’s Germany who have the advantage at the moment.

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“Of course, Thursday is also a very important clash (in the Europa League) between (Bayer) Leverkusen and West Ham.”

As it stands, Italy (18,428) and Germany (17,210) occupy the top two positions, closely followed by England with 16,750 points.

Each victory in Europe, regardless of the competition, is worth two coefficient points, including one in the event of a draw, while an additional point is awarded for reaching certain stages of a tournament.

For example, Borussia Dortmund’s quarter-final victory over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night earned Germany an extra point.

While Italy still has five teams in Europe – with one club guaranteed to qualify for the Europa League semi-finals – they look set to receive another Champions League berth.

Germany have three, with Bayern hoping to follow BVB into the semi-finals, while Bundesliga champions Leverkusen have their sights set on Europa League glory.

England have five clubs left, but it remains to be seen how many of them qualify for the semi-finals.

Arsenal face an uphill task at Bayern, while Manchester City are broadly level with Real Madrid ahead of Wednesday’s second leg at the Etihad, live on talkSPORT 2.

Elsewhere, Liverpool trail 3-0 ahead of their European League match with Atalanta, with West Ham trailing Leverkusen by two goals – another game that could tip England over if the Hammers pull off a shock victory.

Villa, involved in the Europa Conference League, were the only team to win in their first leg last week, beating Lille 2-1.