SerpApi.Org
Arsenal have extended their deal with long-term title sponsor Emirates, two years early.
The deal, negotiated by the club’s chief commercial officer Juliet Slot – who is the latest executive to leave the club – is a significant increase on the £45m-a-year deal that ran until 2028. The first Premier League title in 22 years, as well as Arsenal Women’s triumph in the Champions League last year, has meant the club are a far more attractive proposition.
The deal is understood to include the naming rights of the stadium which has borne the name of the United Arab Emirates’ airline since it was opened in 2006, as well as the front-of-shirt sponsor for the men’s and women’s teams. Emirates has been on the front of the Arsenal shirt since 2006.
Arsenal did not comment on the scale of the new Emirates deal or the extension. The most recent extension was agreed for five years in August 2023 and was understood to be about £45m-£50m. Emirates declined to comment.
Driving up commercial revenues is a key part of growth for the biggest clubs in Europe. Arsenal spent about £268m last summer in fees alone. The club have to comply with Uefa squad-cost-ratio controls that limit spending on transfer fees, wages and related-player costs to 70 per cent of revenue. There will be an obligation to raise money through player sales, and pressure to deliver improved contracts for Mikel Arteta and Declan Rice, among others.
Slot will leave Arsenal later this year having presided over a significant expansion of the club’s commercial revenues. Since her arrival in December 2021, the club have seen commercial revenues rise 104 per cent. Slot has also developed the key Emirates relationship with Boutros Boutros, the airline’s influential marketing chief.
Arsenal broke their revenue record for the 2024-25 financial year, announced in February with an annual turnover of £691m. A key part of that was the commercial growth, from £218m to £263m. Like all Europe’s leading clubs, Arsenal have a wide range of tiered commercial partners, but there is no bigger deal than the Emirates agreement.
Sobha Realty, the Dubai property developer, has the naming rights for the London Colney training ground and is one of four principal partners including Adidas, the kit manufacturer, and Deel, which develops commercial software. There are a further 29 global partners, from Japanese beer company Asahi Dry to Meta’s messaging service WhatsApp.
Those deals are the key part of the commercial consideration. Arsenal have also added value with their own retail division that has released 50 clothing collections and ranges since July 2024.
Slot follows other big figures out of the club in what has been 12 months of seismic change in the key executive and training-ground roles. Tim Lewis, the executive vice-chairman, was removed abruptly in September. James Ellis, most recently technical director, left in February. The head of medical Zafar Iqbal was removed in June. Tom Allen, Arteta’s long-term head of sports science and performance, went later the same month.
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