Arsenal pulled off a historic result in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta defeated Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid convincingly across both legs, progressing into the last four with a 5-1 scoreline on aggregate, which is quite the achievement against a side who have won the UEFA Champions League a record 15 times.

Not only do Arsenal now have a chance to win their first ever UEFA Champions League title, but a large chunk of prize money is also heading to the Emirates Stadium after progressing beyond the quarter-final.

Arsenal bank over £12m after defeating Real Madrid

Just for reaching the semi-final, Arsenal have secured a sum of at least £12.64m in prize money, as UEFA revealed in an official document, the total given to semi-finalists.

That is a useful chunk of cash for the Gunners – over double the £6m fee spent to sign Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano in July 2019 – and there is more in the bank from earlier rounds.

Arsenal finished third in the league phase with six wins and a draw from eight games, so Arteta also secured £11.2m before the knockout stage even began.

The remarkable 9-3 aggregate win over PSV Eindhoven in the Round of 16 then earned the Gunners an additional £9.27m, before reaching the quarter-final banked another £10.53m for the north Londoners.

Furthermore, UEFA pay out €18.62m (£15.95m) before a ball is even kicked just for qualifying for the competition.

Therefore – just in prize money alone – Arsenal have received a total of £59.6m from UEFA this season, with more to come if the Gunners can beat PSG in the last four.

Aston Villa banked £45.19m after PSG knocked the Villans out in the quarter-final on Tuesday.

UEFA money could pay for Nico Williams

Arsenal have already held talks over Nico Williams as Andrea Berta – the new Director of Football for the Gunners – focuses on signing the Spain international.

1 – Arsenal are first team ever to win each of their first two games against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabéu in all competitions. Historic. pic.twitter.com/3RAgSDhMLF

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 16, 2025

The talented winger is believed to have a release clause written into his Athletic Bilbao contract worth £49m – so Arsenal could actually trigger this and have more than £10m left over from the UEFA prize money.

Whatever Arsenal decide to do with the cash, it just goes to show how financially rewarding it is to be a formidable side in European football.