Arsenal's Champions League prize money broken down as Mikel Arteta dealt £9m blow after PSG defeat

Arsenal have reportedly missed out on around £9m owing to their soul-crushing Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday.

The Gunners came closer than ever before to winning Europe's top competition for the first time in their history, taking the 2024-25 winners to penalties after Kai Havertz and Ousmane Dembele's goals in the first 120 minutes.

However, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Magalhaes both missed the mark as PSG beat Arsenal 4-3 on spot kicks in Budapest, thus becoming just the second team to win back-to-back Champions Leagues after Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have now played 226 matches in the European Cup/Champions League without ever winning the competition, more than any other team still waiting for their first trophy.

According to The Mirror, Arsenal would have pocketed another £9.06m had they come up trumps at the Puskas Arena - £5.61m through becoming champions and £3.45m through playing in the UEFA Super Cup.

Arsenal's Champions League prize money broken down

Nevertheless, the runners-up have still received a significant prize money total of £141.18m for their continental feats in 2025-26, the bulk of which came from TV revenues and the rankings pool at the start of the competition.

Mikel Arteta's side then took home another £24.4m through their perfect league-phase performance, in which they became the first team to win all eight fixtures in the new-look format.

Progression to the last 16 without having to compete in the playoffs earned Arsenal another £11.3m, before receiving two lots of £10.8m for their knockout successes against Bayer Leverkusen and Sporting Lisbon.

By edging out Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals, Arsenal banked another £15.97m, and even Saturday's devastating defeat was worth another £16m to the Gunners.

Arsenal have therefore earned more money from their 2025-26 UCL run than PSG did for winning the tournament last year - £124.6m - after UEFA increased the prize pot to an unprecedented £2.13bn.

How should Arsenal spend their Champions League prize money?

Straight after Saturday's final, Arteta outlined his Arsenal transfer plans for the summer window, stressing that the Gunners will be "very, very ambitious" ahead of the new season.

Thanks to their Premier League and UCL prize money, and unwavering support from co-chair Josh Kroenke, Arsenal are in an extremely healthy financial position, and another record spending spree this summer is not beyond the realm of possibility.

The London giants should be on red alert following a transfer admission by Rafael Leao, who has revealed that he is ready to leave AC Milan at the same time that Arsenal are searching for a left-wing upgrade on Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal can also make serious plays for PSG's Bradley Barcola and Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez, although the latter's comical response to Barcelona's offer may mean that the door is already closed on a deal for the Argentine.