North London Derby has £52.8m riding on it as Tottenham and Arsenal in Champions League fight

There will be nerves aplenty inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening when Spurs and Arsenal go head-to-head with a place in the Champions League at stake. With three games of the 2021/22 Premier League season to go, the Gunners sit in fourth and have a four-point advantage over their rivals at such a key stage in the campaign.

Three points will be enough to secure a Champions League return for Arsenal for the first time since 2016/17, while victory for Spurs and it will be very much game on going into the final week. A draw, however, and Spurs will need big favours off Newcastle United and Everton when they come up against Mikel Arteta's men in the run-in.

With Arsenal not featuring in the Champions League for five seasons now, Tottenham have missed out on a top-four finish in the past two campaigns. Both teams are absolutely desperate to return to Europe's top table after a spell away, and it's not hard to see why given the money involved.

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As per Twitter user Swiss Ramble, who is an expert in the business of football, the difference between a Champions League finish and a Europa League finish is worth millions to clubs. Given the need to bring in money for big transfers and helping the club reach the next level in general, a Champions League finish is a must.

In terms of UEFA competitions prize money for 2021/22, clubs would earn €15.6m (£13.3m) for participating in the Champions League as opposed to €3.6m (£3.1m) in the Europa League. Although there is no prize money for winning or coming second in the Champions League group stage, the maximum revenue from the groups is €16.8m (£14.3m) as a win is worth €2.8m