Arsenal: Transfer budget solutions can be found in sponsorship

If Arsenal want to keep their status in world football and attract talent in the transfer market, they need to up their sponsorship game.

A lot has been written recently about the rumored £50 million transfer budget that the next Arsenal manager will inherit once signing on with the club. Less has been written about the club’s lack of lucrative sponsorship deals. This is what is truly hindering our ability to sign and hold onto top-notch talents.

According to the Deloitte Football Money League, which aggregates revenue data about the world’s top clubs, Arsenal are the sixth-highest earning club in the sport. In the past decade the club has never been out of the top ten. Only four clubs (Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich) have perennially topped our revenues, with teams like Chelsea, Man City, Juventus and PSG occasionally leaping ahead.

Here are a couple points of interest from the most recent report, based on numbers from the 2016-2017 season:

Related Story: 5 Reasons To Be Optimistic About Arteta Appointment

Of the top 20 earning teams, an average of 38% of revenue generated from commercial deals. Arsenal generate only 28% from these sources. This percentage looks even more anemic when compared to the average of other teams in the top 10.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

As far as matchday revenue and broadcast revenue, the club is quite healthy. Both of these aspects are superior to both the average of the top 20 and the top 10 teams.

So the rumors that the club can manage only £50 million for transfers must be related to the lack of big-money commercial sponsorship deals. That, and the reluctance to dip into the more than £137 million in cash reserves lying around.

It’s a problem that continues to restrict ambition in the transfer market at Arsenal. Our £30 million per year kit deal with Puma (considered the third-best kit/boot supplier) pales in comparison to Man U’s £75 million per year deal with Adidas.

Fortunately, recent reports connect Arsenal to a new shirt sleeve sponsorship partner, which is a step in the right direction. This deal is being reported as worth somewhere between £5-10 million, which would be on par with similar deals that other top-6 clubs have previously signed.

Next: 3 Must-Sign Dream Players

But there is no arguing with the numbers. The sleeve deal is a start. The expiring Puma kit deal should be the next to be improved upon. But the club still needs to explore sponsorship deals with other partners that fit the club’s values. And put the money to use instead of stashing it in some inaccessible vault.