Why Manchester United Rank Above Arsenal Among Europe’s Elite Teams

June 7, 2025

  • Despite experiencing one of their poorest seasons in the Premier League, Manchester United has still managed to rank higher than Arsenal.

  • The Red Devils ended up in 14th place in the league, whereas Arsenal secured the second spot, and additionally competed in the less prestigious Europa League.

  • ChinPao.biz.id.co.ke clarifies that league positions do not influence the rankings and highlights why Manchester United remain above Arsenal.

Fans couldn’t help but be entertained as the most recent UEFA rankings were revised following the Champions League finale, which PSG secured with ease.

Despite being one of the strongest teams in Europe recently, Arsenal failed to secure a spot within the top 10. Adding insult to injury, Manchester United has been placed above them.

Leading European teams based on their UEFA coefficient rankings

Real Madrid remains the highest-rated team in Europe with 143.5 points, followed closely by Manchester City with 137.75 points. In third place is Bayern Munich with 135.250 points.

Liverpool are fourth, followed by the new European champions PSG, beaten finalists Inter Milan, Conference League champions Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund in eighth AS Roma and Barcelona are in ninth and 10th place respectively.

Manchester United sit just outside the top 10 in 11th position with 102.5 points, whereas Arsenal occupies the 12th spot with 98 points.


Rank

Club

Country

Points

1

Real Madrid

Spain

143.5

2

Manchester City

England

137.75

3

Bayern Munich

Germany

135.25

4

Liverpool

England

125.5

5

Paris Saint-Germain

France

118.5

6

Inter Milan

Italy

116.25

7

Chelsea

England

109

8

Borussia Dortmund

Germany

106.75

9

AS Roma

Italy

104.5

10

Barcelona

Spain

103.25

Contrasting Manchester United with Arsenal

The rankings can be perplexing since Arsenal have undoubtedly been among the elite teams in England over the past three years, despite not securing any major trophies. Mikel Arteta nearly claimed the Premier League title, coming runner-up for three consecutive seasons.

He has also engineered deeper runs in the Champions League, with this season’s journey ending in the semi-finals.

Manchester United, meanwhile, recorded their worst-ever league finish in recent seasons as Ruben Amorim’s spell at Old Trafford kicked off on a sour note. They also finished eighth the previous season.

They were also beaten in the Europa League final by Tottenham.

Joseph Maraha said:

“Six years at the club now and spent north of 700M pounds and this sixth phase of his project(Mikel Arteta) cannot even break them into the top 10.”

Sarah said:

Arsenal currently ranks 12th in the latest UEFA club rankings even though Mikel Arteta claimed they were ‘the best in Europe.’ They are below United.

Why does Arsenal’s ranking place them below Manchester United?

These rankings are not related to league standings or victories in domestic trophies. The UEFA coefficients take into account a club’s performance across European competitions from the past five years.

You may recall that prior to Arteta steering Arsenal in North London towards better times, the team found it difficult to secure a spot in the Champions League, not to mention contending for titles.

What is the method for calculating UEFA coefficients?

Teams get two points for each victory and one point for a tie. Additionally, they can earn extra points depending on their progress through the league phase, with greater incentives offered to those competing in the elite UEFA Champions League.

As clubs advance through the knockout rounds, their points keep growing — each round in the Champions League adds 1.5 bonus points, while the Europa League gives 1 extra point per round, and the Conference League adds 0.5 points for each stage progressed. The deeper a club goes, the more it benefits.

So Manchester United, despite their struggles in the league, have been regulars in European competitions, unlike Arsenal. For instance, the Gunners didn’t play any competition in 2021/2022, getting zero points while United got 18 points for reaching the Round of 16 in the Champions League.

Why Chelsea is expected to have a better standing than Arsenal in the Champions League rankings.

It’s this same logic that will be used when the draw for next season’s Champions League league phase is done.

Despite finishing fourth in the Premier League, Chelsea will be placed in a higher pot than Arsenal, who came in second place.

The Blues haven’t participated in the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, yet they will find themselves in Pot 1. In contrast, Arsenal will have to deal with being placed in Pot 2.

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