The Red Devils, record holders of Africa's premier club competition with six titles, are scheduled to play Gunners away from home on March 20 in the first leg.

"The burden has become too heavy for us as a club, the going is getting really tough and we have been crying out for help since last year," Gunners chairman Cuthbert Chitima was quoted as saying by Afrik.com.

"We even presented our budget to the ministry through the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) and the Sports Commission.

"So without any financial assistance it will be very difficult to play Ahli, we would rather stop them from coming here before we fail to fulfill the trip to Egypt."

Gunners qualified for the Champions League round of 32 after defeating Zanzibar's Mafunzo 6-1 on aggregate.

ZIFA chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya said he hopes the government will bail out Gunners and three other Zimbabwean teams - Lengthens, CAPS United and Dynamos who participate in the Champions League and Confederation Cup.