Arteta responds as Arsenal plan to cut 60 off-field jobs

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the club explained its decision to cut 60 jobs as part of an effort to improve the organisation and support future success. According to BBC Sport, chief executive Richard Garlick informed employees this week that the workforce would be reduced across several departments, with the planned redundancies affecting off-field positions.

Watch the highlights:

The cuts could affect up to seven per cent of Arsenal's 871 permanent employees. Coaching and performance staff working with both the men's and women's teams will be excluded, as will security staff. Jobs within the Arsenal Foundation and Arsenal in the Community will also be protected, the BBC reported, setting out the areas that will not be included in the reductions.

Arteta addressed the issue at a news conference ahead of Sunday's visit to Nottingham Forest. He initially indicated that the question should be directed elsewhere, before saying the club had explained the review and the analysis behind it. His account was that the intention was to improve the organisation, place people in appropriate roles and continue investing in its ambitions. He reiterated that he was not the appropriate person to provide a fuller answer.

The workforce review was carried out by an external company and had begun before Arsenal won the Premier League. Last season's championship was the club's first league title since 2004. The planned redundancies therefore follow a review that was already under way before that success, rather than one initiated only after the title had been secured.

The announcement also comes a week after Arteta received a new four-year contract. BBC Sport reported that the 44-year-old's agreement increased his previous salary, which stood at £10m a year with a further £5m in bonuses. The report did not specify the value of his new pay package.

Arsenal's financial results provide another part of the backdrop to the decision. Figures announced in February showed record revenue of £691m for the 2024-25 financial year, alongside an overall loss of £1.4m. The same accounts recorded operating costs of £200.8m, compared with £147.9m in the preceding year.