Arsenal had the sixth highest revenue among football’s top clubs last season, but are still lagging far behind their rivals commercially.
Deloitte have published their annual Football Money League for the 2016/17 season and, once again, Arsenal’s figures are impressive.
Their £419m revenue for the season places them sixth in the league, sneaking above Paris St. Germain but still below Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
Manchester United retained top spot with £581m, just in front of Real Madrid £580m, who overtook Spanish rivals Barcelona £557m. Bayern Munich and Manchester City held on to 4th and 5th places with £505m and £454m respectively, while Arsenal £419m edged ahead of PSG £418m. pic.twitter.com/4vChPExL8W
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) January 29, 2018
Arsenal’s revenue has grown by £71m (€80m) largely thanks to the new Premier League TV deal.
However, it’s a different story if the FX impact is stripped out, with the most impressive real growth being reported by English clubs (seven of the top eight), led by Leicester €121m, Tottenham €112m and Arsenal €80m, largely due to the new three-year Premier League TV deal. pic.twitter.com/sRgRaBLCgV
— Swiss Ramble (@SwissRamble) January 29, 2018
While the TV deal has contributed a lot to Arsenal’s growth, matchday income makes up the largest share of their revenue.
24% of Arsenal’s revenue came from matchdays, which is the fourth highest in the Money League.
Only Barcelona (£118m), Real Madrid (£117m) and Manchester United (£108m) make more money during matchdays.
In terms of broadcast income, Arsenal rank an impressive third with £201m. Manchester City (£213m) and Real Madrid (£204m) ranked above us.
Commercially, Arsenal are still a long way behind their rivals.
Their £117m income falls way short of Liverpool (£139m), Chelsea (£140m), Manchester City (£198m) and Manchester United (£279m).
Bar United, English clubs on the whole are struggling to keep up with European teams’ commercial deals.
Overall, revenue for clubs in the Money League has doubled since 2009.
Broadcasting was the main driver behind the growth during 2016/17, and is only going to get higher as TV deals become more and more lucrative.
What we’re seeing with these results, though, is that better TV deals and higher matchday income will not make up for poor commercial deals.
It remains an area of weakness for Arsenal and one they must address urgently if they wish to compete with their rivals long-term.