Arsenal Football Club has today confirmed that it has once again made a profit the season of 2012 / 2013, in some news that will surely be received with mixed responses. Firstly without getting into all the financial details, basically at the end of day, the main figure we need to focus on as fans is the ‘Group profit before tax’ which was £6.7 million. This isn’t the most spectacular figure in the club’s history, with the amount actually being £36.6 million in the 2011 / 2012 accounting.

The sheer drop in amount is largely down to the fact that we had so many ‘deadwood’ players on our wage bill, which with some simple calculation came to the excess of around an extra £400k per week because of these players. It’s a staggering amount and it is in fact very strange to hear from a club of Arsenal’s calibre who are normally so financially tight, however it should no longer be such an issue because as I’m sure you are all aware, Arsenal managed to ship out the majority of deadwood one way or another this summer.

For full details on the finances of Arsenal Football Club for the 2013 accounting, they can be found at Arsenal.com.
One man that was particularly happy, aside from Wenger and Gazidis of course was new chairman Sir Chips Keswick, who was extremely proud of the club’s stability.

Sir Chips stated: “It is my job to ensure we steer further along the course we have set. We must continue to grow commercially to provide the Club with the best opportunity to achieve success and we must do this in a way which remains true to our values and which ensures and protects the long-term sustainability of the Club. We face a competitive landscape across the top of the Premier League and across Europe’s elite clubs which is tougher than ever. Despite fair play initiatives the financial competition for top players remains intense and transfer prices and player wages continue to move ever higher. It is therefore positive that the strong financial platform we have created in recent years allows us to continue to be competitive at the highest level.”

It’s good to see someone on the Arsenal management being so open with the club’s progression, and although I suspect it’s all just talk, I have confidence that this club will now continue in this direction now that most of the expenses have been paid off. Of course we still have Silent Stan Kroenke and other such management still crucial to our success but hopefully this news will be the first of many less profitable seasons and more efficiently spent summers.

Have Arsenal turned the corner? Will we keep making big signings like Ozil? Who do you think they should be?

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