Betting tips / Richard Aikman / 30 April 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Richard Aikman fills you in as to why Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham will be cheering on Bayern in the Champions League showdown with Chelsea.

MATCH ODDS: Chelsea (3.10), Bayern Munich (1.47)
Chelsea's miraculous Champions League semi-final defeat of Barcelona has thrown the future of three Premier League clubs into turmoil.

Three weeks ago fourth place represented the guarantee of a place in August's Champions League third qualifying round, but all of a sudden only third place offers that sanctuary. The Blues' miracle of Camp Nou might be good for English club's UEFA coefficient but try telling that to Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle supporters.

After all, if Chelsea can sink Barcelona over two legs, who is to say they can't do the same to Bayern Munich over one?

And, if the Blues are crowned European club champions they will defend their title next term at the expense of whoever finishes fourth. There is little doubt there will be more Englishmen supporting Bayern on the night of 26 May.

Three winless matches for Arsenal means they can still be caught by Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea themselves, who have at least a game in hand on Arsène Wenger's charges, and each will be desperate to rein in the north Londoners to avoid an end-of-season anti-climax.

Playing Europa League football next term would certainly be an alien prospect for the Gunners, who have enjoyed dining at Europe's top table for the last 15 seasons, but they are at least financially equipped to handle one season of Europa League football.

Such is their recent history and playing style that Arsenal remain a desirable club for prospective newcomers, which is why they have reportedly already secured the services of Lukas Podolski for next season. As for their supporters, back in October most Gooners would have happily signed up for European football of any description after their apocalyptic start to the campaign.

The expectations of Newcastle supporters are similarly reasonable. Naturally, to have come within touching distance only to miss out on club football's holy grail would be galling in the extreme, but given how far Alan Pardew's outfit have come in such a short space of time, a Europa League tour would not be deemed a failure by Toon supporters who were watching second-tier football but two seasons ago.

For Tottenham, however, the picture is markedly different. The Lilywhites were still in title contention not two months ago and are now facing an uphill struggle to finish fourth. Supporter disaffection aside, failure to earn Champions League football could trigger the disintegration of a squad that until February was playing the best football in the division.

With Harry Redknapp seemingly England-bound and Luka Modric non-committal over his future, worse news emerged from White Hart Lane at the weekend when Gareth Bale hinted that he could well be off at the end of the season. "It's flattering, when you're linked with teams like Barcelona it makes you realise what a good job you're doing and how well you're playing," the Welshman told the BBC.

When pushed on the issue of whether he would stay if Spurs missed out on Champions League football, his answer fell only marginally short of 'Come and get me please, Barça'. "I'm not too sure to be honest," he said. "The only problem for me is that Wales haven't qualified for any international major tournaments in a long time and I had a taste of the Champions League last season and enjoyed it thoroughly.

"I think everyone wants to test themselves against the best players in the world. We'll have to wait and see what happens but if we don't qualify for the Champions League we'll have to sit down and discuss it and see what's best for myself."

Tottenham simply have to find their way out of the enormous hole they have dug for themselves because the consequences of not doing so will be severe. They must somehow rediscover belief and form and hope for benign results elsewhere - not least a home win for Bayern Munich against Chelsea at the end of May - because if they lose Gareth Bale next term they will be lucky to finish in the top six next season.