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Stan Kroenke sitting on £88m stash, Arsenal chief not happy with what Gunners are spending big on

Adam Williams

Mon 21 April 2025 20:46, UK

It’s a fine line between success and failure in football and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are living on the edge of it this season. For owner Stan Kroenke, however, it has already been an unqualified triumph.

The story of 2024-25 will either be a first-ever Champions League win or another trophyless season of stasis, with Arsenal finishing 2nd in the Premier League for a third successive year.

Incidentally, winning three silver medals in a row would equal a record that the Gunners themselves set between 1999 and 2001 under Arsene Wenger.

Two seasons ago, finishing as runners-up was seen as huge progress. Narrowly missing out to Manchester City again last season was too. But the bar is higher now for Arteta and his team.

But as far as Stan Kroenke is concerned, the primary target has probably already been met.

The aim this term was always to consolidate their Champions League status. Even if it isn’t mathematically secured yet, it would take a biblical collapse for the North Londoners to miss out from here.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	33	24	7	2	75	31	44	79
2	ArsenalArsenal	33	18	12	3	61	27	34	66
3	NewcastleNewcastle	33	18	5	10	62	44	18	59
4	Man CityManchester City	33	17	7	9	64	42	22	58
5	ChelseaChelsea	33	16	9	8	58	40	18	57
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	32	17	6	9	51	38	13	57
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	33	16	9	8	53	47	6	57

Anything was a bonus for the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), even if Josh Kroenke has talked a good game about taking the team to the next level on the pitch.

There’s never been a better time to be a Champions League club. A new format has revved up an already extraordinarily lucrative competition. Arsenal have banked almost £100m from UEFA so far this season.

If they go all the way, it will be closer to £125m. Include matchday income and you’re at closer to £160m. Qualification for the revamped Club World Cup? That could be another £100m on top of that.

For Arsenal to have achieved that on a more modest budget than most of their peers, several of whom are now testing the limits of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), will be cause for celebration at KSE HQ.

Significantly, the owners also avoided splashing out £100m-plus on a world-class striker in January. The income-expense ratio, they concluded, was not worth it.

They will feel somewhat vindicated given that Arsenal will probably break the £700m barrier in terms of revenue this season, even if bedrock Arsenal fans measure success by more traditional football metrics.

What’s more, Arsenal will almost certainly turn a profit this season, their first since Kroenke took 100 per cent control of the club.

As a business, the club is coming into full flower. And the latest figures from N5 prove exactly that.

• READ MORE: Arsenal set up for £260m Champions League bonanza thanks to what Stan Kroenke has done in private

Stan Kroenke’s ‘hidden’ £88m war chest at Arsenal

Football clubs’ corporate structures are increasingly complex. Arsenal are no exception.

Research from football finance expert Jason Stephens highlights that there are 13 companies who are registered at Highbury House, 10 of whom have reported distinc financial results from one another.

The remaining three are yet to publish financial information on Companies House, according to the information published via .

Significantly, when viewed in the aggregate, the sum of these various companies’ financials paints a rosier picture of Arsenal’s business than the accounts for the football club in isolation.

Arsenal’s end-of-year financial results showed cash in the bank of £58m, for example. However, the research from MCO Insights shows that 13 companies collectively had £88m in the bank.

• READ MORE: Arsenal’s William Saliba reveals the club he grew up dreaming of playing for since the age of six

Arsenal’s spending on agents revealed, vice-chair Tim Lewis has already issued warning

Last week, the Football Association released its annual data set on how much English clubs have spent on agents in the current season.

Arsenal’s outlay on intermediaries was just shy of £23m, which was actually far more modest than the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City at the top end of the table.

In total, Premier League clubs spent almost £410m. That is relative to a total transfer spend of almost £2.5bn, although it should be noted that clubs pay agents for both new signings and sales.

That remarkable outlay is emblematic of what Arsenal vice-chair and right-hand man Tim Lewis has warned about agents fees in the past.

Earlier this season in an interview with some of his fellow Premier League club executives about the imminent introduction of an independent football regulator, Lewis was asked what he’d like to change about footballs financial system.

“Brexit has had a serious impact in terms of access to talent,” he answered.

“I would like a proper review of how we can get more access to talent across our pyramid from outside of the UK so we can compete with our major competitors in the European leagues.

“I’d also like it to look at better regulation of agents: in excess of £400million left the English game last year last season in the direction of agents.”