Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid will cost the club £9million in lost sponsorship revenue next season. Arsenal’s kit and sponsorship deals with Puma and Emirates respectively contain penalty clauses of 15 per cent if the club are not involved in the Champions League, which was confirmed by Thursday night’s 1-0 second-leg defeat to Atletico.
Both Puma and Emirates pay Arsenal £30m a year to have their logos on the club shirt, but that is a headline figure contingent upon them taking part in the Champions League, as they did for 19 successive seasons before finishing outside the top four for the first time under Arsène Wenger last season.
Consequently, Arsenal suffered a financial hit this season which will be repeated in the next campaign, their last under the existing sponsorship arrangements. Arsenal will also suffer as a result of reduced broadcast and ticketing revenue in the Europa League, which combined with the commercial hit led to their operating profits falling by more than 60 per cent last year.
Arsenal’s most recently published half-year results to November 2017 showed that the club’s income from football — excluding player-trading — was down by £23.4m on the previous year, with their absence from the Champions League the biggest factor. Arsenal’s reduced income will impact on their plans for replacing Wenger, player recruitment and contract negotiations with Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Danny Welbeck.