Here’s how much money Arsenal will lose if the club fails to qualify for the Champions League

Arsenal has played Champions League football every season since 1998 but that run may soon come to an end.Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

LONDON — For 19 straight seasons, Arsene Wenger has secured Arsenal a place in the Champions League. But it’s a record under threat.

With five Premier League games left of the 2016/17 campaign, the team is six points off a top-four finish that will hand it a spot among Europe’s elite.

The threat of failing to qualify for next season’s Champions League competition is real — and the North Londoner’s could stand to miss out on a substantial amount of money as a result.

In the 2015/2016 season alone, Arsenal received €53.4 million (£45 million) of Champions League revenue, according to UEFA. This includes €22.3 million from on-field success (Arsenal reached the round of 16) and €31.1 million in TV revenue.

It could be higher for the current 2016/17 season, when Arsenal banked €25.7 million after reaching the last 16 again. TV revenues are yet to be revealed for this year.

In short: No Champions League football could blow a hole of at least £45 million in Arsenal’s finances.

This has the potential to turn the club into a loss-making business after it reported pre-tax profits of £12.6 million in the year to November 2016.

But what about the Europa League?

It is not all bad news, though. Arsenal is guaranteed a place in the Europa League after reaching the FA Cup final. The competition may have its detractors but it is still a respectable trophy to win.

Chelsea won the Europa League in 2013.Jamie McDonald / Getty Images

But the Europa League does not generate anywhere near as much money as the Champions League.

According to UEFA’s official 2016/2017 Europa League revenue figures, the most a British club can earn is just over €27 million (£23 million) — and that’s only if it lifts the trophy. So, if Arsenal won the Europa League next season, it would — at best — take home around half its £45 million Champions League earnings.

It’s little wonder a place in Europe’s premier football competition is so coveted.