Arsenal: New Emirates deal means little without right enaction

Arsenal have signed a new deal with Fly Emirates, keeping them as the shirt and stadium sponsor until the end of the 2023/24 season. The new deal, though, means little without the right enaction.

Arsenal are one of the most commercially successful football clubs in the world. If there is anything that Arsene Wenger has guaranteed throughout his time as manager, it is that the club is carefully managed off the pitch, with sound investments made and a long-term vision implemented and followed.

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It is something that this club has founded itself on. It is a tactic that has frustrated many fans, angered at the lack of trophies and competitiveness as a result of the tentative spending, sometimes preferring the width of the wallet, not the fullness of the trophy cabinet.

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And they have again proven their business acumen. On Monday, it was announced an extension of their sponsorship deal with Fly Emirates, including the shirts and the naming of the stadium. This is what Ivan Gazidis had to say about the new agreement:

"“Our shirt partnership is the longest running in the Premier League and one of the longest relationships in world sport. This mutual commitment is testimony to the strength and depth of our unique relationship. Emirates are again demonstrating their great belief in our approach and ambition and their significantly increased investment will help us continue to compete for trophies and bring more success to the club and our fans around the world.”"

The deal is reportedly worth more than £200 million, is the biggest sponsorship deal by a British club not named Manchester United, and will see Fly Emirates sponsor Arsenal’s shirts for 18 years, one more than their previous record, 17 years with JVC from 1981 til 1999. But all that, in and of itself, means very little.

Commercial success does not equate to on-pitch success. Arsenal have found that to be true throughout the recent years. They were named the second richest club in the world by a SoccerEx study in January 2018, and have consistently held one of the highest revenues and cash reserves. But they have not used that financial clout intelligently.

Now, some of that is down to wasteful spending. Were Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi and Alexandre Lacazette were their transfer fees? Perhaps not. Some of that is down to Stan Kroenke and his insistence that he wants to make money from this ‘business venture’. Some it is down to Wenger and his stubbornly economic principles. Whatever the reason, money has not been wisely spent, or spent at all in some cases.

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That is the issue with this new Emirates deal. The deal is excellent news, in theory. But in practice, it is the management of the club that will determine its utility and its success. That is something that I am far less confident in.