Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed he was told that the club's decision to cut 60 jobs was made in order to "achieve the success we want to create." Gunners chief executive Richard Garlick notified staff members this week that the organisation's workforce would be trimmed across several different departments.
The redundancies are set to impact up to seven per cent of Arsenal's 871 permanent staff, with all cuts coming strictly from off-the-field positions. Coaching and performance staff across both the men's and women's setups will remain unaffected by the restructuring. Furthermore, roles within the security team, the Arsenal Foundation, and Arsenal in the Community will also be protected. The changes follow a workforce review by an external company that was already ongoing before the club won the Premier League.
The staff reductions emerge just one week after Arteta committed to a new four-year deal, having guided the team to their first Premier League title since 2004 last season. The 44-year-old manager, who was appointed in December 2019, secured an increase on his previous £10m-a-year wages alongside £5m in bonuses. Speaking at a press conference before Sunday's trip to Nottingham Forest, Arteta initially said "this question is not for me" before adding: "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. Some decisions have to be taken to put people in the right roles, and keep investing, to achieve what we want to achieve, the success that we want to create. That has been explained. Obviously, I am not the right person to answer that question. That's for sure. And hopefully everybody will respect that."
The internal changes come in the wake of financial disclosures released in February, which showed Arsenal generated record revenues of £691m for the 2024-25 financial year. In spite of those record incoming figures, the club still posted an overall loss of £1.4m, with operating expenses climbing from £147.9m in the prior financial year up to £200.8m.