Rumours: Arsenal agree record kit deal with Puma

The Daily Mirror is today reporting that Arsenal have agreed a deal with Puma to become the club’s new kit manufacturer. Arsenal’s kits are currently made by Nike, who have one year left on their remaining deal.

The Mirror report suggests that the deal has already been agreed with Puma and that it is a five-year contract, beginning at the start of the 2014/15 season. The deal is reported to be worth a total of £170m and worth in excess of £30m a year.

There had been reports that Arsenal were set to agree a deal with Adidas but they lost interest and confirmed they were out of the running back in March.

The deal would be the biggest kit deal in English football, beating Liverpool’s current deal with Warrior Sports that is worth £25m a year. Warrior were another company reportedly in the running for the Arsenal deal, but Puma’s offer beat every other offer out of sight it appears.

It also beats Arsenal’s current deal with Nike, which is worth £55m over 7 years. If the reports are true, it will end a 20 year association between Arsenal and Nike when the current deal expires in 2014.

The deal has yet to be confirmed by the club or Puma, but it would appear to be correct. The media reported a potential Adidas deal last year, but never said one had officially been signed. The Mirror have come out and said that this Puma deal has been signed already and it definitely will happen. I can’t see them being so confident on a kit deal and it not happening myself. Transfer news yes, kit / sponsorship deals not so much.

It would also be a huge deal for Puma, one that would give them a deal with one of the biggest team’s in the world and also one of the world’s most supported clubs too. They make Borussia Dortmund’s kits out in Germany, who are probably the biggest club they make kits for right now. In England they make kits for a number of clubs, with Newcastle and Reading being the only Premier League shirts that they do right now. Reading have already been relegated and Newcastle could still go down, so they may not have any Premier League clubs left after this season.

Puma have reportedly signed a deal to become Arsenal’s kit manufacturer from 2014/15 onwards.

Picture: www.football-shirts.co.uk

This kit will give the club no excuse to not spend in the transfer market. Add together the money the club will get from this deal and the money they get from Fly Emirates for the shirt sponsorship and Arsenal should have a large amount of cash available for transfers.

Personally I don’t care who makes our kits. As long as the shirt is an Arsenal one that is all that really matters. What I want in a kit is for it to be comfortable and for it to meet the traditions of Arsenal Football Club. So red shirt with white sleeves and our away kit to be a yellow and blue trim. If Puma do that, they will get my money. If they do what Nike have done and produce lazy, boring designs as well as stupid colours that have nothing to do with the club like a white away shirt or purple, then they won’t. It’s simple.

Stick and Arsenal badge and sponsor on this and I’d happily buy it.

Another complaint I have heard about the Nike shirts are that the ‘Fly Emirates’ logo falls off easily. Personally I only had this problem once, the first year Arsenal had Emirates as their sponsors (2006/07 season) and the Emirates fell off after just a couple of weeks. Arsenal fans on Twitter have been saying they’ve had this problem multiple times with Nike kits, so if Puma are to make our kits from 2014 onwards, that’s something they should look into as well.

Nike’s designs have been very unimaginative of late. I’m glad there is going to be a change in kit designer actually. I’m delighted with the money they have reportedly given us too!.