Record revenues of £691m. A first league title in 22 years. A new deal for the manager said to be worth around £20m a year. And, as of Wednesday morning, up to 60 redundancies.

That is the contradiction Arsenal staff were asked to absorb on 14 October, when chief executive Richard Garlick told employees in a company-wide call that the club is launching a redundancy process affecting roughly 7% of its workforce of around 850.

The proposals are the outcome of an efficiency review carried out this year by management consultants Boston Consulting Group. Garlick confirmed that the football operation, the academy, community programmes, Arsenal Foundation and the security department are exempt, with the cuts falling on back-office and commercial functions. The process is now subject to formal consultation, and the final number can still change before any role is cut.

A week after Arteta’s new deal

The timing has drawn criticism in part because the announcement comes seven days after the club confirmed Arteta had signed a new contract running to June 2030, reported to be worth about £20m a year and roughly £80m in total. That makes him the highest-paid manager in the Premier League.

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Writing in The Independent, Miguel Delaney called the move “simply indefensible” and contrasted it with the club’s “doing things the right way” slogan.

“People on everyday wages are now fearing for their jobs and mortgages, as the show just goes on,” he wrote.

Record revenue, seventh straight loss

The paradox Garlick is wrestling with is that the money comes in and still runs out. Arsenal’s most recent accounts, covering the year to May 2025, show a record £691m in turnover but a seventh consecutive annual loss, this one of £1.4m. The wage bill reached a club-record £346.8m. Operating costs rose from about £148m the previous year to roughly £201m.

The summer window added around £150m of transfer spending, bringing in Christos Tzolis, Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa.

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Lille beaten the night before

The call to staff came the morning after Arsenal had beaten Lille 3-0 at the Emirates in the Champions League league phase, with Jurrien Timber, Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka on the scoresheet. The result was Arsenal’s second win from two in this season’s competition.

Next on the fixture list is a trip to Bayern Munich on 21 October. In the office, the consultation period begins now.

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