Arsenal almost broke even for the 2024-25 financial year, recording an overall loss of £1.4million, while announcing record revenues of £691m.
The overall loss included £15.2m of written-off player values — an acceptance the club would not recoup the book value of certain players — without which Arsenal would have been in profit for the year, according to the club’s financial results for 2024-25.
Arsenal’s bottom line was enhanced by profits made from player sales and loans, which was up to £81.7m for the financial year-ending 2025 compared to £52.4m for the previous year.
Their underlying operating losses before the disposal of player registrations did grow from £50m in 2024 to £65m in 2025, however.
Overall operating costs rose by £53m from £147.9m to £200.8m, which Arsenal said reflected increased staging costs, specific direct costs of delivering increased revenues, certain residual property matters and inflationary pressures.
As for transfer spending, Arsenal’s gross outlay between June 2024 and May 2025 was £124m but their net spend for the same period was only £18m – because of the £106m received in player sales, including homegrown players Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah, and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
Nketiah and Smith Rowe departed Arsenal in the summer of 2024 (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Arsenal’s wage bill rose to a club-record £346m, but their £19m jump from 2023-24 was a slower increase than the year before. With the fourth-highest wage bill in the Premier League for 2024-25, their second-placed finish could be viewed as an overachievement.
Their net transfer debt, as of May 31, 2025 had also gone down to £125m from £229m in 2024, which could help explain why they were able to spend in last summer’s transfer window.
Matchdays, broadcast and commercial dealings were the other main strands contributing to Arsenal’s record revenue.
The biggest rise was a £45m increase in commercial deals from £218.3m in 2024, up to £263.2m in 2025. Arsenal sold the naming rights to their training ground to Sobha Realty in February 2024 – a deal which contributed to the club’s revenues.
Next was their matchday revenue, with a £22m jump to £154m, second behind only Manchester United, as they played 30 matches at the Emirates Stadium. Another season in the Champions League, and a run to the semi-finals, was a factor, while their broadcast revenue grew by £10m from £262m to £272m.
Arsenal’s chief executive officer, Richard Garlick, said: “These financial results show a positive trajectory as we continue to pursue major trophies, following our second successive season back in the men’s Champions League in 2024-25.
“The investment in our teams, supported by revenue growth, resulted in strong campaigns for both our men’s and women’s teams last season.
“Our industry continues to face challenges in terms of the level of investment it takes to compete at the highest level in the face of rising costs in a regulated environment. This remains an important consideration as we look ahead.”
‘On-field improvements couple with record revenues’
Analysis by Chris Weatherspoon
Last season was Arsenal’s seventh straight loss-making year, though at just £1.3m the club’s pre-tax deficit was also at its lowest in that period. Were it not for the £15.2m impairment booked against player values — in effect, the club recognising it wouldn’t recoup the book values of an unspecified player or players — Arsenal would have booked their first profit since 2017-18.
That was, notably, the final year before Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) took total control of the north London club, so last season marked the best financial result of the KSE era.
Such finances were driven by club record revenues of £691m, with Arsenal recognising increases in all three main income streams: matchday, broadcasting and commercial.
Improvements on the field under Mikel Arteta have married record revenue uplifts at the Emirates; both matchday and commercial income have improved by more than 50 per cent in just two seasons, a remarkable rate of growth.
Arsenal reached the Champions League semi-finals last season (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
While the bottom line was close to break-even, Arsenal’s underlying result actually worsened. The difference was accounted for by that impairment, but even without that it meant Arsenal’s operating result remained a steady £50m in the red. That was the case even as wages as a proportion of revenue fell to just 50.1 per cent, a healthy number for a football club.
The £53m increase in operating costs reflects the huge expenditure incurred by football’s biggest clubs these days — and the increasing difficulty those clubs have in turning profits. Arsenal’s cash generation from day-to-day activities dropped by nearly £30m, even as the club reaped record income.
Player sales are an increasing part of most clubs’ business, and most of Arsenal’s in 2024-25 came in the 2024 summer transfer window, meaning the club knew it had that money in the coffers for the season ahead. Yet it also showed the importance of such sales.
A quieter year of transfer spending also set the scene for summer 2025’s splurge. These latest accounts disclose Arsenal spent a net £268m on transfers in the 2025-26 season, in turn taking the cost of their current squad above the £1.2billion mark.
Notably, Arsenal called upon owners KSE for more funding, though at just £13.5m it marked a significant reduction on the £112m provided by the ownership in the previous two seasons. Arsenal’s debt to their owners sat at £340m at the end of May 2025.