Finance guru issues ‘£200m’ Arsenal reveal amid ‘significant’ signings claim
Arsenal currently owe £200million to owner Stan Kroenke but remain in robust financial health.
That is the view of finance expert Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest news from behind the scenes at the Emirates.
The Athletic reported last Monday (3 October) that Tim Lewis, who has been a non-executive director at the club since 2020, has stepped back from his other role as a partner at law firm Clifford Chance in order to concentrate on Arsenal.
It is claimed that the corporate lawyer, who is a boyhood Gooner and a close ally of Kroenke, was tasked with restructuring the North Londoners’ debt upon his arrival at the club.
Plumley assessed Arsenal’s financials, explaining how “significant” signings and the pandemic have impacted the picture.
“I think restructuring debt is always a long-term play,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“Arsenal have always been perceived to be one of the better financially run clubs. They have had big cash reserves in the past, which is important when you consider debt.
“The cash balance has lowered, but you would naturally expect that due to the pandemic and because they have had some significant player registrations over the past few years.
“But they have still got healthy-ish cash reserves of around £19m in the latest accounts.
“There is net debt. It sits around £200m. However pretty much all of that is owed to Stan Kroenke. We have got a position whereby, from what we can see, that’s not under any fixed repayment terms, and there’s no interest attached at this point.
“They are very much long-term borrowings. When you put that into context, some of those figures might seem quite high, but we have to be aware that they are linked to the ownership structure of the club.
“So, the debt position is relatively comfortable provided that he doesn’t want that money back any time soon. Given the pandemic and other factors in recent years, I think this is a fairly decent position to be in.
“The caveat is that they are still dependent on their main owner, but a lot of clubs are at the moment.“
In other news, pundit suggests Oleksandr Zinchenko could be frozen out at Arsenal after development.