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Transfers
Arsenal have actually spent £89m more on transfers than everyone thinks
The Kroenke regime have broken with what historically has been a relatively conservative approach to recruitment at Arsenal in recent years.
Stan Kroenke, Arsenal’s 100 per cent owner since 2018, has long wanted the club to stand on its own two feet as opposed to bankrolling huge signings.
But their amortisation bill has risen every year over the last decade and, at £139m at the last count, is more than treble what it was in 2014.
That figure is still lower than Chelsea, Man City and Man United but the gap will likely have shrunk by the time they release their accounts for 2023-24 – at least on the two Manchester clubs.
Bucking the trend across the division meanwhile, Arsenal‘s wage bill has remained broadly the same as it was in 2017-18 and was comfortably the lowest of the so-called Big Six in the last financial year.
The difference has been the value that Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have extracted relative to the cash spent.
They have also not been reluctant to cut ties with players at the right times, even when they are those that depart with the best wishes of the fans like Eddie Nketiah, Aaron Ramsdale and Emile Smith Rowe.
But the latest financial data shows that while Arsenal’s business in recent windows still deserves praise, the North London club have actually spend more than many believe.
Official data shows Arsenal’s spending far higher than reported
Arsenal made five signings in total over the summer.
The permanent addition of David Raya was followed by fellow Spain international Mikel Merino and centre-back Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.
On deadline day, 35-year-old Neto joined on loan from Bournemouth as a backup goalkeeper, while Raheem Sterling rejected £650,000-a-week from Saudi Arabia to also sign on loan from Chelsea.
However, data collected by world-renowned football finance writer suggests that the true cost of Arsenal’s summer may in fact be far greater.
Staggering, official club accounts show spending in 2022-23, the last recorded financial year, was £620m higher across the Premier League than reported figures suggested.
Media figures placed Arsenal’s spending for the season at £162m, but the club’s own data presented a gross spend of £251m.
The £89m discrepancy was the second highest in the Premier League behind Chelsea.
Of the 20 top flight clubs, only three’s spend was lower than the reported figures, suggesting there will be a similar trend once the data for 2023-24 and 2024-25 is released.
Arsenal’s PSR position
Throughout the summer, a number of reports suggested that Arsenal were conscious of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR – formerly FFP) in negotiations.
And while this appeared to be what the club were briefing to journalists, Arsenal actually have more PSR headroom than almost any other Premier League club.
Their revenue will likely exceed £600m for the 2023-24 season as they count the extra cash from their return to the Champions League after a seven-season absence.
The headline reported figures show that Arsenal spent approximately £91m, while their net spend was an impressive £22m.
However
They are also feeling the benefit of a bumper new training ground naming rights deal with Sobha Realty, among a flurry of other commercial partnerships.
Their superb wage control, as well as the fact that their relatively big spending in recent seasons will be amortised in the next three to five years, means they have no issues with PSR.