Mikel Arteta Defends Up to 60 Arsenal Job Cuts After £20m-Plus Contract

• Arsenal have told staff that up to 60 roles are at risk after a structural review that began with a consultation process started by Boston Consulting Group before the end of last season.
• Mikel Arteta said the decisions were part of the club’s intention “to evolve to improve”, then added: “I am not the right person to answer that question.”
• The timing has drawn scrutiny after the announcement of Arteta’s new contract, which is worth more than £20m a season.

Arteta Hands the Question Back to the Club

Mikel Arteta has defended Arsenal’s decision to cut up to 60 jobs, insisting the club felt it was necessary to keep achieving success, then declined to explain it. “Obviously I am not the right person to answer that question,” the manager said. “That’s for sure. And hopefully everybody will respect that.”

The comments came a week after the club announced Arteta’s new deal, worth more than £20m a season, and the timing of the proposed cuts has attracted scrutiny. Arsenal say the restructuring process began before the contract was announced. Arteta, for his part, said the exercise had been explained to him.

“It was explained to me about the exercise, and the analysis that has been done across the club, and with the intention always to evolve to improve,” he said. “Some decisions have to be taken, to put people in the right roles, and keep investing to achieve what we want to achieve and the success that we want to create.”

The club did not allow Arteta to answer any more questions on the subject.

Who Is Affected and What Arsenal Plan Next

The Premier League champions have informed the staff whose positions are at risk. The consultation process was started by Boston Consulting Group before the end of last season and was overseen internally by managing director Richard Garlick.

The catering and travel departments are understood to be among those affected. The men’s and women’s first-team performance and coaching staff will not be touched, and the academy, Arsenal Women, Arsenal in the Community, the Arsenal Foundation and site security teams are also exempt. Other areas of the wider football operation are included in the review.

Arsenal hope the number of redundancies can be reduced and will try to redeploy affected employees wherever possible. Some job losses might be unavoidable, according to the Guardian’s report.

The Money Behind the Review

The figures help explain the pressure from above. Arsenal’s most recent financial accounts, for the 2024-25 campaign, show operating costs rising from £148m the previous year to £201m. The owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, is keen to cut costs even after Arsenal ended a 22-year wait to win the Premier League title last season.

Arteta played a part in reshaping the club’s medical department over the summer, when former Aston Villa team doctor Arnaldo Abrantes arrived. He is also believed to have strengthened his backroom staff in other areas.

Gyökeres Still Waiting for a Goal

Arteta also spoke about Viktor Gyökeres, who has yet to score for Arsenal this season. The Sweden striker struggled against Lille in midweek after scoring four goals on international duty, and Kai Havertz is again expected to start ahead of him when Arsenal travel to Nottingham Forest on Sunday. It is the first of four away games in their next five matches.

“These are moments in a player’s career, or in a season, I would say,” Arteta said. “And we are trying to help him as much as possible. The other day, I think he had some very good moments. He’s three or four times in front of goal with no keeper and the ball should arrive to him and it doesn’t. But these are the strikers. It’s very small margins. Scoring or not scoring changes the narrative, for sure, not the perception of how much he can help the team.”

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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