Arsenal: The Future Looks Brighter

Good times ahead?

So it’s official. Arsenal have clinched a new mega-bucks sponsorship deal with Dubai based Emirates Airline.

The £150m deal is for a five year period until the end of 2018/19 season. The deal includes the Match Kits plus the Training Kits,and also the naming rights for the Arsenal home stadium, which goes on till 2028.

The announcement was made earlier today by club Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis. This comes on the back of speculation of a deal being struck with ADIDAS for the new kits design. When asked about the possible change of kit designer Gazidis said,

“Kit deal on agenda, moving that forward. Great partnership with Nike but until in position to make announcement, can’t say more.”

It won’t be premature to assume the rumours to be true. ADIDAS are being touted as front runners to clinch the deal for the Kit designs at the Emirates. Having talked about the deal in general, lets see what this means for Arsenal.

The first thing, and exciting news for most Arsenal fans is that Emirates have agreed to pump the first instalment of £30m into club come the next financial year. In other words, we’ll have some serious cash to splash around come next summer. Add to this a little whipped cream of being able to do so in a sustainable manner, not going around throwing money left, right and centre. Now, carefully place a cherry on top for the imminent introduction of FFP come 2014 and Arsenal will be right there competing for the signatures of the top talents, and though I have no idea what I’ve cooked here, it sure sounds delicious.

It may sound all win-win, but there might still be some issues. If we look towards the the transfer kitty Wenger has at his disposal, it’s a massive amount. Which beckons the question- will these promises of investment into the team be fulfilled?

“The deal is all about football, it’s all about giving us the resources to be able to invest in what we put on to the field for our fans,” said Gazidis.

Make no doubt about the fact that The Boss runs the show when it comes to buying players, and I have complete faith in him. So no, signing players was NEVER a problem for Arsenal. It was Arsene Wenger’s decision and he did have the funds available all the while to do so. Some might argue that after players sales and salaries we break even every year, and with sustainability in mind, he might have his hands tied when it came to spending and these funds would certainly help.

In my opinion, the main problem Arsenal face year-in year-out is retaining their important players. Certain names come to mind followed by a tinge of disappointment of losing them to massive wage demands. A certain Theo Walcott conundrum comes to mind. His demands of a £100k might be a tad unrealistic on his part, given he’s just started to deliver on a consistent basis, but highlights my point all the more.

The certain influx of cash next summer should go into ensuring top players at club commit their future to the club. Bacary Sagna’s contract also runs out in 2014 must be offered a new one immediately. Huge wages are something the top people at Arsenal will just have to except.

In a nutshell, this deal puts us in a position where we can compete against the big money of Chelsea and Manchester City. We can compete for the top most players, in terms of both wages and transfer fees. Though we might have to wait for FFP for the latter to be true.

Compare the current deal with the the renewed one and you’ll immediately see a huge improvement. This is certainly a massive move forward in terms of revenue generated. Arsenal get a mere £5.5m a year from the current deal with Emirates. That figure rises to £30m from next season, if that doesn’t make you see how big a step forward it is I can’t think of anything that will make you believe in the Board.

Nike, our current kit designers, give us £8m a year and the same give Manchester United £25m p/a. Changing this to ADIDAS will likely be a much bigger pay out than our current deal, and we are suddenly right there at the top.

To sum it up, I’m really glad that we’re moving forward and that Ivan Gazidis is not a complete nut as he’s made out to be. I feel good times are just ’round the corner.

Keep the faith. Support the Arsenal.

Come On You Gooners.