Premier League: Arsenal boosted by £200m shirt deal

By Deputy Chief EditorFebruary 20, 2018

189 2 minutes read

Arsenal will increase their spending power from 2019 by around £20 million a year after agreeing a new shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates that will be worth more than £200 million until 2024.

As revealed on Friday, Arsenal have also negotiated the freedom from next year to seek a first sleeve sponsor, which is expected to be worth £5-10 million annually. The new Emirates deal in itself represents an annual uplift from the existing £30 million deal of about £10 million and will put Arsenal joint second in the Premier League with Chelsea for shirt sponsor value.

New deal: Emirates will continue its sponsorship of Arsenal. Photo: AP

It arrives following the club record £54 million transfer of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil's new contract, as well as talks with Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere over new deals. Arsenal also want to strengthen both their central defence and midfield in the summer transfer window.

The market is still led by Manchester United, who have an annual £47 million deal -until 2021 with Chevrolet, but also a separate training ground and kit contract with Aon that is worth around £15 million a year. Arsenal's new deal includes Emirates as the training kit sponsor, whereas Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as United, have also generated additional income from separate training kit sponsors.

Arsenal's shirt partnership with Emirates is the longest in the Premier League – dating back to 2006 – and also the club's largest sponsorship deal. It does underline, however, the dominance of United in this sector, as well as the gap from the "big six" to the rest of the Premier League. Shirt sponsorship outside the "big six" is generally worth £2-10 million annually.

"Emirates are again demonstrating their great belief in our approach and ambition and their significantly increased investment will help us continue to compete for trophies and bring more success to the club," said Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal's chief executive.

Arsenal's big financial challenge is commercial, amid annual gaps to the two Manchester clubs that have been calculated at more than £100 million. This deal will help address that and Arsenal will now be hoping to generate a significant increase on their Puma kit deal, which expires next summer.

Negotiations, however, may be complicated as Manchester City's Nike deal – worth around £20 million a year – also expires next season. They have been linked with Puma and their successes this season could prompt manufacturers to aim a bigger deal at Pep Guardiola's squad.