Bournemouth's dramatic win against Arsenal in the teatime kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday has left open the possibility of a piece of European history.
Arsenal have lost to the Cherries both at home and away this season, following October's uncharacteristic 2-0 loss at the Vitality Stadium with Saturday's 2-1 defeat on their own turf.
Having dropped six points against Andoni Iraola's streaky Bournemouth side, the Gunners could become the catalyst behind a Premier League first.
Advert
Bournemouth came from behind to beat the North London side thanks to quick-fire goals from Dean Huijsen and Evanilson, leaving Mikel Arteta's men just seven points ahead of Nottingham Forest in sixth place, having played a game more.
Chelsea in fifth and Aston Villa in seventh are also seven points behind the Gunners, while Manchester City and Newcastle United are even closer. It's all up for grabs now, to borrow a phrase.
The chances are slim but Arsenal are still theoretically in danger of dropping out of the top five in the Premier League and therefore missing out on an automatic Champions League place in spite of the extra spot the Gunners themselves confirmed with their 3-0 win over Real Madrid in this season's quarter-final first leg.
Advert
If that unlikely eventuality transpires, the Premier League could end up with as many as seven places in next season's Champions League.
The top five in the Premier League would take the five spots available via league placing and none of those teams is in European competition with one exception: Arsenal.
Should the Gunners somehow conspire to drop out of the top five but win the Champions League, they'd become the sixth English team in Europe's premier club competition next season by qualifying automatically as competition winners.
Advert
And with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur having an awful season in domestic football but closing in on an all-English Europa League final, the winner would become the Premier League's seventh qualifier as Europa League champions.
Man Utd's Europa League win in 2016-17 also made Champions League history. The Red Devils qualified for the Champions League as Europa League winners and the following season was the first time five Premier League teams had played in the same Champions League group stage.
United, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City all reached the last 16, making England the first country ever to have five representatives so late in the tournament.
Topics: Arsenal, Bournemouth, Champions League, Premier League, Europa League
Chris Nee