England are officially guaranteed a minimum of five teams in the Champions League next season after Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Declan Rice scored two stunning free-kicks, including the very first of his career, to put Mikel Arteta’s side in complete control of the quarter-final tie at the Emirates.

Mikel Merino then scored the third goal with 75 minutes on the clock, ensuring a night to remember for both the Gunners and the Premier League as a whole.

Two extra places are awarded to countries based on their UEFA coefficient ranking. Last season, Borussia Dortmund and Bologna were the fortunate recipients after Germany and Italy saw off competition from Engand, France and Spain.

However, English sides have dominated this year and there could be further success to come. Liverpool and Arsenal are set to finish in the top four while Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester City and Aston Villa are also in contention.

Arsenal beat Real Madrid 3-0 to take charge of their Champions League quarter-final tie

The victory also guaranteed England a minimum of five spots in the competition next season

Brighton and Bournemouth could also be in the mix with just 12 points currently separating third place from 10th ahead of this weekend’s action.

Incredibly, England could have as many as seven teams in the Champions League next season, although several permutations are required in this scenario.

Aston Villa would need to win the competition this campaign but miss out on qualification through the Premier League, while either Manchester United or Tottenham, both quarter-finalists, would need to lift the Europa League trophy.

This is because the winners of the Europa League and the Champions League are automatically guaranteed a seat at the top table for the following season. 

Previous rules stipulated that any single league could only have a maximum of five clubs in the Champions League. However, that regulation has now been scrapped. 

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta praised his side’s victory over the holders Real Madrid but insisted his players still ‘have a lot more to give’ ahead of the return leg.

‘When you have not played against this team for the past 20 years, and not had a proper run in this competition, you have to be prepared to write your own history, and it is on nights like this where you can do that,’ said Arteta.

‘We did that but we have a lot more to give.’ 

The development will come as a boost to Newcastle, who currently occupy fifth place

Nottingham Forest are also firmly in the Champions League race in a remarkable season

Manchester United would qualify, perhaps as the seventh side, if they win the Europa League

Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, meanwhile, admitted the LaLiga giants were fortunate to have only lost by three goals, such was Arsenal’s dominance.

‘We were nowhere near it, that is the fact and Arsenal were really good,’ Bellingham told Amazon Prime post-match. ‘Two of the goals are really good free kicks but to be honest they could have had way more.  

‘But there is a second leg, we are holding onto it, we will need something unbelievably special. You never know, but I cant come out and say we will give up, it’s not in the nature of the club and the mentality they instill in you.

‘They [the free kicks] are two pieces of individual quality. If it wasn’t for them they still had a number of chances and we got punished and that happens.

‘We had a chance but in these games you need to create more. Very rarely do you come here and score one and go through. We just didn’t do enough, got to the final third multiple times but they reacted well and we didn’t do enough with the ball.

‘We are still alive, we still have 90 minutes.’