Arsenal have announced a record loss of more than £100million for the year ended May 31, 2021 – attributing the majority to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
After losses of less than £50million the previous year, Arsenal posted post-tax losses of £107.3million in their latest financial statement – the biggest in the club’s history.
As much as £85million of that was put down to the adverse effect of Covid as the club played just two games in front of a crowd at the Emirates Stadium during the 2020-21 season – with coronavirus measures preventing live attendances for much of the campaign.
Arsenal has announced a record loss of £107.3million after tax as the Covid-19 pandemic hit
‘The results for the financial year have been materially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the majority of matches for the 2020/21 season to be played behind closed doors,’ a club statement accompanying the latest figures read.
‘For matches played behind closed doors there was a complete loss of ticket (and other matchday) revenue.
‘Despite playing 31 home matches (23 Premier League, including four fixtures deferred consequent to the 2019/20 season suspension, six UEFA Europa League and two domestic cup ties) only two of these games were played with any fans present. As a result, matchday revenue fell by some £75 million to £3.8 million.’
The club played two games in front of a crowd at the Emirates Stadium during the 20-21 season
Arsenal’s first-team squad agreed to a voluntary pay-cut of 12.5 per cent during the pandemic, offsetting the club’s outlay of wages which came in at £244million.
Redundancies – 55 in total – and restructuring during that time also saw the club incur exceptional costs of £6.7million.
The total profit on player sales earned the club just £11.8million as the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Mesut Ozil – the highest-paid player in Arsenal’s history – negotiated the termination of their contracts to move elsewhere.
The total profit on player sales earned the club just £11.8million as Mustafi and Ozil left the club
The financial figures were released just hours after Arsenal announced an increase in ticket prices for the 2022/23 season.
A first stadium-wide increase in eight years will see supporters pay an extra four per cent to watch the Gunners next year.
‘We recognise that no one welcomes price increases, and this decision has not been taken lightly,’ a club statement read.
‘Ultimately in the face of continued rising costs, we need to continue to drive growth in all our revenue streams – including matchday – as part of our aim to return our finances to a break-even position in the medium-term.’
