Ivan Gazidis and Arsenal released a statement on Tuesday revealing the 54-year-old would be leaving the club, but it’s a small detail in the middle of Gazidis’ quotes that has fans excited.
Among all the usual talk about the club being in a strong position, and so on, one section of the statement caught the eyes of supporters.
“We have rebuilt the off-field capability of the club, which is necessary for prolonged success in modern football,” Gazidis said. “We have recently concluded new primary partnership deals that, together with the new league broadcast deals, secure our medium term financial future.”
Primary partnership deals usually include shirt sponsorship and kit manufacturer. We all already know about the new Emirates deal, but it’s possible Gazidis was also making reference to the rumoured switch from Puma to Adidas next summer. Arsenal fans on Twitter certainly seemed to think so:
This went under the radar from Gazidis statement. #Adidas? pic.twitter.com/HpWQxyqUOd
— Arsènic™ (@MrArsenicTM) September 18, 2018
I saw that. Already all but confirmed but I imagine the Puma contract ensures we prolong an official announcement
— Calum (@CalArsenal) September 18, 2018
Please be Adidas #BruisedBanana2020
— Dardanian (@liko_kr) September 18, 2018
Adidas deal – 100%
— Eddie (@edandadie) September 18, 2018
In the interest of keeping Arsenal fan heads on their shoulders, I should probably point out that it’s possible Gazidis is considering Visit Rwanda as a “primary partnership”. The sleeve sponsors tend to get a mention over the tannoy at home games alongside Emirates and Puma, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
To keep Puma happy, we’ll probably have to wait a bit longer for an official announcement. It would undermine their deal to reveal the new manufacturer so early in the season.
Hopefully it’ll be worth the wait.