On the pitch, Arsenal are enjoying one of the best periods in their history.

They’re the reigning Premier League champions, they have one of the best managers in the world on a new long-term deal, and their revenues have never been higher.

Behind the scenes, though, the mood is reportedly very different. Last week, staff were told that 60 jobs are at risk of redundancy, and according to Sam Dean of The Telegraph, morale within the club has plummeted as a result. Dean’s report also contained a surprising detail about the finances behind Arsenal’s title win.

Arsenal’s bonus structure means winning the league isn’t always more profitable

According to Dean, Arsenal have made seven consecutive years of losses, and last season’s accounts, which haven’t been released yet, are likely to show another, potentially sizeable, one.

Winning the Premier League boosts the club’s image and long-term earning power, but weirdly it doesn’t immediately help the bank balance. In fact, because of Arsenal’s incentivised bonus structure, Dean writes that “it can actually be more profitable, in the short term at least, for Arsenal to finish second.”

It sounds strange, but it makes sense when you look at how much the players earn. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire recently pointed out that the average Arsenal first-team player earned £7.7million in 2024/25, a figure “likely to be much higher last season when bonuses for winning the title kicked in.”

That’s despite Arsenal’s revenue rising by £319million between 2022 and 2025, according to Maguire. The extra prize money and commercial bonuses that come with winning the title are partly cancelled out by what the club pays its players for winning it.

Dean adds that the job cuts would have happened regardless of where Arsenal finished in May. Richard Garlick was named chief executive in September last year and has since overseen a review of the club’s operations, with Arsenal working alongside management consultants Boston Consulting Group. The idea is that the more Arsenal generate off the pitch, the more they can invest in the team.

No Arsenal fan would swap last season’s title for a healthier balance sheet, and in the long run, being champions should only make the club stronger commercially. But that will be little comfort to the staff now facing an uncertain future, especially when Maguire estimates the cuts will save Arsenal just £3million a year, around what a key player earns in a few days.

It’s really not a good look, especially for a club that constantly likes to remind everyone of their values.