Arteta says Arsenal job cuts are intended to fuel future success

Arteta: job cuts are part of Arsenal’s plan to evolve

Mikel Arteta has defended Arsenal’s proposed reduction of up to 60 jobs, saying he was told the changes followed a club-wide review intended to help the club evolve and sustain success.

“Some decisions have to be taken, to put people in the right roles, and keep investing to achieve what we want to achieve on the success that we want to create,” Arteta said at a news conference before Arsenal’s trip to Nottingham Forest. He added that he was “not the right person to answer” questions about the redundancies and declined to comment further.

Off-field roles in review

Arsenal chief executive Richard Garlick informed staff this week that the workforce would be reduced across several departments. The proposed cuts could affect up to seven per cent of the club’s 871 permanent employees. The review, conducted with outside consultancy Boston Consulting Group, was under way before Arsenal won the Premier League.

The club is understood to be seeking to limit the number of redundancies and to redeploy affected employees where possible. Catering and travel roles are among those reportedly in scope. The men’s and women’s first-team coaching and performance teams, the Arsenal Foundation, Arsenal in the Community and security staff are among the areas said to be exempt.

Contract announcement and rising costs draw scrutiny

The proposed cuts were announced a week after Arteta signed a new four-year contract. BBC Sport reported that his deal increased his previous £10m annual salary, with a further £5m available in bonuses. Arsenal say the restructuring process began before the contract announcement.

The club’s 2024-25 financial accounts recorded operating costs of about £200.8m, up from £147.9m in 2023-24. Arsenal also reported record revenue of £691m for 2024-25, alongside an overall loss of £1.4m. The Guardian reported that the cost review was overseen internally by Garlick and that the club’s first-team coaching and performance staff would not be affected.

Arteta backs Gyökeres after difficult spell

Arteta also spoke about Viktor Gyökeres, who has yet to score for Arsenal this season and struggled in the midweek match against Lille after scoring four times on international duty. Kai Havertz is expected to start ahead of the Sweden international against Nottingham Forest.

“We are trying to help him as much as possible,” Arteta said of Gyökeres. He added that the striker had been “three or four times in front of goal with no keeper” against Lille, but that the ball had not reached him. “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.”