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£87m losses at Arsenal

Arsenal have published their 2020 results and the effects of the pandemic are apparent.

Here are a few highlights selected by Kieran Maguire of the PriceofFootball (the 2nd edition of his book with that title is now out with Agenda).

Revenue was down £51m, day to day, losses up from £28m to £87m, net transfer spend £116m, borrowings down (but this is before club borrowed from the Bank of England)

Arsenal net spend on players was £116m in 2019/20, a record for the club. Squad cost up to £616m. Player signings for the season higher than that of any club who has reported to date.

The cost to Arsenal of sacking Emery and his entourage was £9.5m.

Arsenal matchday revenue down to £345m, a noticeable gap repeatedly appearing between them and other big earning London clubs.   Arsenal earn about £3.5-£4m per home match from ticket sales, so lockdown in March 2020 hit matchday revenue by £17m.

Broadcast income was down one third due to timing of matches as well as rebates to broadcasters.  Earned less from this source than the likes of Watford in 2019.

One positive for Arsenal in 2019/20 was a sharp rise in commercial income to a record £147m, but still well below the class leaders (the two Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool).

Arsenal made profits on player sales of £60m.

The club states on its website: 'Since the year end, the Group has refinanced its stadium finance bonds and undertaken a range of cost-cutting measures. These steps will ensure the club is well placed to respond once the situation starts to improve.

The club continues to have the unwavering support and commitment of its parent company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, and its ultimate owner Stan Kroenke.'   That's nice to know.

The full report can be found here: https://www.arsenal.com/media/284069


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