Arsenal plan 60 redundancies despite record £691m revenue and Arteta's new deal

Arsenal are set to make 60 staff members redundant across several departments, the club has told employees, despite posting record revenues of £691m and recently extending manager Mikel Arteta’s contract until 2030.

The Premier League champions recorded an overall loss of just £1.4m for the 2024/25 financial year — effectively breaking even — with the record revenue figure driven in part by the sale of naming rights to their training ground to Sobha Realty, a deal struck in February 2024. Against that backdrop, the planned job cuts are expected to draw a sharp reaction from supporters.

A consultation process is currently underway, meaning the final number of redundancies could yet change. According to The Athletic, the cuts will span a number of departments, though the coaching staff, men’s and women’s performance teams, academy, community operation, Arsenal Foundation, security personnel, and those working within the women’s setup are all exempt from the process.

The announcement arrives weeks after Arteta signed a lucrative new deal widely reported to make him the highest-paid manager in the Premier League, having delivered the club’s first league title in over two decades. Arsenal also spent approximately £150m in the summer transfer window, bringing in Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimarães, and Ezri Konsa to strengthen a squad already regarded as one of Europe’s best.

Arsenal are not the first major English club to pursue significant staff reductions in recent years. Manchester United faced considerable public backlash after cutting jobs under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership, with Ratcliffe arguing the measures were necessary to ensure the club’s financial stability. Arsenal’s situation differs in that the club is not reporting heavy losses, making the rationale for the redundancies less immediately apparent to those affected and to fans watching from the outside.

The consultation period means the club’s final decision is not yet confirmed, and it remains to be seen how many of the 60 proposed positions will ultimately be eliminated.