Kieran Maguire questions if Arsenal are ‘big-six’ club anymore after £238m announcement
Arsenal were hit “very hard” by Covid in a year when their wage bill has left may questioning their status as part of the so-called “big six”.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Gunners’ accounts for the 2020-21 financial year.
The Londoners posted a mammoth total loss of £107.3m after matchday income was almost totally eliminated by pandemic restrictions.
Commercial income saw a slight decline, while media-related income soared due to technical scheduling reasons.
Maguire noted the level of the wage bill and the huge hit the club took from lost gate receipts in his analysis of the figures.
“Arsenal usually have the biggest proportionate total of matchday income in the Premier League,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Those figures meant they were proportionately hit very hard by Covid. Not being in the Champions League hit them as well.
“Their wage bill is another interesting factor. Their wage bill is £238m. That’s over £100m less than the likes of the Manchester clubs.
“People are now asking, is it truly a ‘big six’ anymore? This could be indicative of that. Their players did take pay cuts as well, which will be factored in.”
Arsenal finished 8th in 2020-21 and failed to qualify for Europe for the first time since 1996.
Arteta’s side are currently 6th in the Premier League but will move into the Champions League spots if they win their games in hand.
In other news, Kevin Campell suggests Arsenal have “secret weapon” in top-four race after Kieran Tierney reveal.