For almost 20 years now, the famous Nike ‘Swoosh’ has adorned the shirts of Arsenal’s finest, from Ashley Cole to Robin van Persie. But despite this long-standing affiliation with the American sportswear company, recent reports suggest that the North London club may just be ready to follow suit and sign elsewhere. But other than a set of fancy new kits, exactly what might such a deal mean to the present and the future of Arsenal Football Club?
Indeed, Puma was the word on everyone’s lips last night as rumours emerged that Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and his team had put pen to paper on a 5-year, £170m deal. If these reports are to believed, such a deal could see Arsenal pocket around £34m a year from the German conglomerate, dwarfing the clubs current deal with Nike in comparison, worth just £8m per annum.
Arsenal’s current agreement expires at the end of the 2013/14 season, and in fact it was fellow German manufacturer Adidas who were widely expected to take advantage of Nike’s apparent reluctance to renew. However it now appears that the organisation, who also supply kits to Borussia Dortmund and Cardiff City, will be the next to fabricate Arsenal’s upcoming attire.
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are just two of the numerous Premier League clubs to have felt the benefit of new kit deals in recent years, with Warrior Sports and Under Armour respectively. And with owners and shareholders more influential than ever in ensuring that their clubs remain financially stable, these agreements have proven to be a strong source of investment for teams looking to compete, both on and off the field. But with a similarly lucrative deal now in the pipeline for Arsenal, and the substantial debt of the Emirates Stadium almost cleared, just where does this leave our beloved club?
Of course, stories like these will inevitably spark the imagination of many a supporter, with extravagant and costly players such as Edinson Cavani and Cesc Fabregas no doubt being mentioned as possible transfer targets for Arsene Wenger. Le Prof, a manager who has in recent years repeatedly been on the wrong end of fans frustrations following the departure of the clubs most important players. And indeed, with ever-increasing wage demands and the incessant lure of more financially indulgent rivals, this could give Arsenal that much-needed boost in being able to negotiate and secure improved contracts, meaning a reoccurrence of the Samir Nasri and Van Persie situations may finally be a thing of the past.
With the introduction of Financial Fair Play (FFP) to the Premier League too, this deal could represent a large step forward for Arsenal Football Club. Modern day football has left countless clubs in threat of extinction and it undeniably paints a harrowing picture when Portsmouth fans continuously fear that their club may not be there tomorrow, when Arsenal supporters similarly tear their hair out at the realisation that we might not be able to afford Stefan Jovetic after all. And whilst Arsenal currently stand a considerable distance away from anything resembling a financial meltdown, an extra £26m every season will certainly not go amiss, wherever it may end up being spent. Indeed in a generation of football where money is more relevant and vital to success than ever before, this deal with Puma could just be the start of an Arsenal who are truly able to compete financially amongst Europe’s elite, whilst maintaining the most important ideology of all; Victoria Concordia Crescit.
Jay Waller
Follow @JayJamesWaller!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,”script”,”twitter-wjs”);
Still Arsenal will spend ???????? Big doubt.
Or we will see again, Arsenal will make good profit out of it. Let us wait and see.
All it means is more of our money will go to the U S A with Mr Kranky instead of getting proper players what a load of crap