Arsenal finances show they are still big business off the pitch

LONDON: Uncertainty on the field and in the dugout continues to undermine Arsenal’s season, but off the pitch they remain among the most stable in the Premier League — a contradiction that has defined the club’s identity this decade.
In February, Emirates renewed its sponsorship of the Premier League club — a year ahead of schedule — with a deal that will last until the end of the 2023-24 season. The new agreement is believed be worth more than $280 million to the Gunners.
That figure puts them an impressive third in the table of European shirt sponsorships (behind Manchester United/Chevrolet and Barcelona/Rakuten) and, symbolically, will make the Dubai-based carrier their longest-standing commercial partner — exceeding the 17 years with JVC on the front of their shirts in the 1980s and ‘90s.
The guaranteed revenue from Emirates provides security in an age when Arsenal have slipped well below the new Premier League elite of the Manchester clubs, Chelsea, and even north London rivals Tottenham, with manager Arsene Wenger’s future beyond this summer once more a matter of conjecture.
The Europa League is Arsenal’s only realistic route into the Champions League, with another season outside the world’s leading club competition costing around £50 million ($70 million) in revenue and ensuring it becomes harder for the club to land significant recruits in the transfer market.
The Gunners’ last Premier League title came in 2004. However, despite these barren years, Emirates remains a committed financial partner — for the simple reason that the relationship between football and business performance is not as simple as it once was.
Simon Chadwick, professor of Sports Enterprise at Salford University, Manchester, explained: “It’s overly simplistic to look at the relationship between team performance and sponsorship. People are not going to want to hear this, but many sponsors are not that interested in the club, or in the sport. What they are interested in is solving a business problem.
“Emirates’ business problem, or its challenge, is to remain omnipresent in the minds of British travelers. It’s not necessarily about Arsenal, it’s not necessarily about football — they’re just a means to an end.”
Emirates’ sponsorship portfolio spans multiple continents and sports — with perhaps only Red Bull being of similar magnitude — but it is football where the airline remains most visible, adding its branding to some of the planet’s biggest clubs: Real Madrid, Paris-Saint Germain, AC Milan, Arsenal, Benfica, Hamburg and Olympiakos.
However, the question of exactly which team to offer their “Fly Emirates” logo goes beyond mere club success, which is why Arsenal’s London location and reputation as an upmarket sports club outweighs its on-field woes.
“London, Paris, Milan, Madrid — these are important hubs in the international airline network,” Chadwick said. “And aside from possibly Manchester, where else would Emirates look?
“Who else is there in London? Chelsea are perhaps a little controversial in terms of the Russian link and are not particularly strategic in its commercial activity. Alternatively, you have Tottenham, but despite recent success they are still smaller than Arsenal in commercial terms.
“As a point of reference look at Hamburg because Emirates are sponsoring a team who have not performed well for many, many years. But such is the importance of the city and its location internationally, it’s less about performances on the field and more about the commercial and strategic benefits of being associated with the club.”
The crown jewel in the partnership is Emirates Stadium. Completed in 2006 to replace the iconic, but dilapidated, Highbury, it has been a trailblazer as the first major stadium in England to have successfully navigated the emotive subject of naming rights.
While most stadiums in the US and Australia are named after large corporate enitities, many in the UK are not. “The Emirates,” however, is now common parlance among football fans, with the initial clamour to unofficially brand the stadium Ashburton Grove now almost forgotten.
Robbie Lyle, of Arsenal FanTV and a Gunners supporter for more than 35 years, believes familiarity with the Emirates name lies in the fact the airline sponsored the stadium from the start.
“The name Emirates is ingrained in the stadium and the modern-day Arsenal, and it would be strange to see it change,” Lyle said. “From day one it has been ‘Emirates,’ so naturally every fan has become accustomed to that name.”
But while boardrooms in north London and Dubai delight in the longevity and success of the partnership, it is at odds with supporters who want to see a return on the investment.
“To the ordinary fan, it’s all about how much of that money gets spent on the team,” Lyle said.
“That’s all fans really care about when it comes to the income of the club. We want a well-run club but, ultimately, we want to be able to challenge for the top players.
“It’s great that a sponsor still looks on Arsenal as a fantastic brand and a major force in world football despite the fact we’ve been underperforming, but are the people who are going to get that money willing to spend it and match the ambition of Emirates?” he asked.