Arsenal close in on Tottenham record after £96m shift in finances

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Arsenal are set to rapidly close the gap on Tottenham financially, the latest data shows.

The Gunners may have had the upper hand on the pitch in recent seasons, but Spurs’ have consistently generated more cash behind the scenes.

And while it has frustrated supporters at times, Daniel Levy’s emphasis on long-term profitability and capital appreciation has put them in an excellent position in terms of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Spurs have earned £2.2bn in total since the new stadium opened in 2019, while Arsenal have banked £1.9bn in the same period.

However, a new survey of football’s financial landscape indicates that the gap is set to narrow.

Arsenal the quickest growing club in the Big Six

Deloitte, one of the Big Four accountancy firms with deep roots in football, published their Annual Review of Football Finance this week.

In it, the data showed that Arsenal’s revenue grew by 26 per cent in 2022-23, the last year for which full financial data is available.

Their growth of £96m was the most out of any of the so-called ‘Big Six’ Premier League clubs.

Significantly, it was also two per cent higher than Spurs’.

And as Tottenham played in the Champions League in 2022-23 while Arsenal did not, the margin will widen next season when the Gunners’ European cash registers on the books.

However, the overall revenue gap between the two clubs will likely remain sizable, given that Spurs earned £550m in 2022-23 and Arsenal nearly £100m less.

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Performance on the pitch still the main factor

The shrinking gap between Arsenal and Spurs is emblematic of the fact that performance on the pitch still has a huge bearing on financial performance.

While clubs can, to an extent, trade off their brand alone, the prestige and TV cash that being in the Champions League generates is unparalleled.

As quoted by The Mirror earlier this year, Spurs’ chairman and co-owner Levy said that he is “sick that there’s a club in North London that’s a bit higher than us at this moment”.

And while his frustration will be driven by the sporting bragging rights, or lack thereof, but also by the financial implications of falling behind their arch rivals .