Gunner’s Take Huge Profit From TV-Worthy Football
Arsenal may very well have ended the season as runners-up, having led the charge for so long yet again, and endured a trophy-less season under Arsene Wenger – but that hasn’t stopped them looking like one of the most financially attractive teams in the Premier League.
The London side’s array of talent and attractive football that saw them perch atop the Premier League table at the end of 2015, was evidently enough to secure the following of the masses on the major TV channels, but not a title. In total, they accumulated £100,952,257 – making them the first side to surpass the £100 million mark’s worth of TV broadcasting.
At their peak Mesut Ozil was the cog of the team; the German wizard’s eye for a killer pass unparalleled by his peers and he quickly looked set to break the assist record. Moreover, although Alexis Sanchez started slowly, the two players combined have shown the prowess Arsenal fans have not seen since the days of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
Even though the title challenge eventually unraveled after Christmas, the Gunners still drew huge crowds with their exciting brand of football, and the pure drama of the games they played.
The drama surrounding Arsenal this year – namely their ferocious scrap with Tottenham for a title challenge – whetted the appetites of broadcasters and viewers, indicated by 27 of the Gunner’s 38 games being broadcast on Sky, or BT, the most of any team. They even gained almost £3 million more than their nearest rivals – Manchester City (£96,971,603).
Whether a title challenge is incoming this year remains to be seen, but Arsenal have once again proved how economically attractive they are. Arsenal seem to have a lot going for them except one key thing, a sustainable title challenge; these new figures might come as a bittersweet reminder of that.