Premier League Financial Forecast 2022: Despite securing a return to Europe Arsenal set for another loss

The 2021/22 season marked the first time in 26 years that Arsenal FC did not compete in any European competitions. With ambivalent feelings, the Gunners secured a return to European football with fifth place behind London rivals Spurs and Chelsea.

However, they will miss out on the Champions League for the sixth season in a row. 

Arsenal will find no solace in the financials as they are projected to show their fourth consecutive loss before taxes, this time at around £84 million.

The return of matchday revenues ensures that the club’s turnover will grow to £375 million - though it will still fall short of past seasons from 2016/17 to 2018/19. 

On the commercial side, the Gunners were one of several Premier League clubs who partnered with Socios to launch a fan token.

Besides the fan token deal the club have also extended their £10 million per year sleeve sponsorship and made an ‘All or Nothing’ agreement with Amazon.

Wage reduction

Alleviating their losses, Arsenal decided not to extend contracts with salary-heavy players such as Willian, David Luiz, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this season. This leaves a forecast £4 million net reduction in wages.

However, Arsenal’s operating profit remains around the 2020/21 level as player amortisation costs are predicted to rise by almost €21 million following the expensive summer additions of Martin Ødegaard and Ben White.

In the wake of the new season, Arsenal has entered the transfer window ready to shell out in order to enter the top four and attain a long-awaited Champions League return.

The Gunners have already splurged a reported £34 million on Porto’s Fábio Viera and signed star striker Gabriel Jesus from Man City for £45 million – a transfer fee which accords with the £44.5 million prediction from the Off The Pitch Player Valuation Tool.