Arsenal well placed to agree ‘£20m-a-year’ deal
Arsenal would not have ended their shirt sleeve partnership with Visit Rwanda early if they did not believe they could get a stronger deal in the market.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who has exclusively told Football Insider his reaction to the news that Arsenal will terminate their agreement early with Visit Rwanda.
Arsenal’s deal with Visit Rwanda was worth around £10million a year, but it has been controversial due to the political landscape in the African country.
German software company SAP have already shown interest in agreeing a deal with Arsenal, with the north London club now seeking £20m to agree a new partnership.
Arsenal ‘likely to get an increase’ on £10m deal
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes that winning either the Premier League or the Champions League will boost Arsenal‘s chances of agreeing a higher value shirt sleeve deal.
“So in terms of winning the Premier League and the Champions League to boost that number, absolutely,” Plumley said.
“We know a lot of these deals now are tied to performance-related increases and caveats. So definitely, being Premier League champions or winning the Champions League would enable you to push harder on that one.
“I think they must be thinking they can get more as well or else why would you terminate the current deal?
“And we’ve seen the kind of ballpark suggestions that, yeah, the biggest Premier League clubs are now looking for that bigger to be around £15 to £20m. So you can see the uplift they’re going for.
“And, look, you know, as long as performances on the pitch continue the way they are and they look like they’re in, you know, pole position to win the Premier League, those figures, those performance-related issues will help with said number as well.
“So, yeah, I can see why they’re doing it, and I think it is likely they get an increase.”
Arsenal on course for trophy success
Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa may have halted their title charge, but the Gunners remain two points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s side are also one of the favourites for the Champions League, and have already booked their place in the knockout stages with three games to spare.
Arsenal are also in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, and will begin their FA Cup campaign against Championship club Portsmouth in January.