Arsenal are reportedly planning to cut about 60 jobs as part of efforts to reduce operating costs, just days after rewarding manager Mikel Arteta with a lucrative new contract worth £25 million annually.
According to reports, the club’s chief executive, Richard Garlick, informed staff of the proposed redundancies during a call on Wednesday morning, October 14, 2026.
The planned cuts are expected to affect off-field departments, while key football operations, including performance staff working with the men’s and women’s first teams and the academy, are reportedly set to be protected.
The Arsenal Foundation, community roles and security department are also understood to be exempt from the proposed reductions.
The development has drawn attention to the contrast between the club’s decision to significantly increase Arteta’s salary and its reported plans to reduce staffing costs elsewhere in the organisation.
Arteta recently committed his future to the Gunners by signing a deal that runs until the summer of 2030. His annual salary is reportedly rising from £10 million to £25 million, making him one of the highest-paid managers in world football.
The Spaniard’s new agreement reflects the club’s confidence in his leadership after several seasons of progress, including Arsenal’s reported Premier League title triumph last season and their run to the UEFA Champions League final, where they lost to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in May.
Arteta, who took charge in December 2019, has overseen Arsenal’s return to regular Champions League football and helped re-establish the club as a major force in English football after years without a league title.
However, the club’s reported financial pressures have raised questions about the cost of sustaining that progress.
Arsenal’s latest financial accounts, covering the 2024/25 season, reportedly showed operating costs rising from £148 million to £201 million. The club has also recorded losses for seven consecutive financial years, according to the report.
The increase in expenditure comes as elite clubs face the challenge of balancing investment in players, managerial contracts, infrastructure and other operations with the need to maintain financial sustainability.
Although Arsenal’s on-field performances have improved under Arteta, the proposed redundancies suggest that the club is also reviewing its off-field spending.
The reported job cuts are expected to focus on administrative and other non-playing areas, rather than the coaching and performance departments directly involved in preparing the first teams and academy players.
Arsenal have yet to be quoted in the report as providing a detailed public explanation of the proposed redundancies or their full financial implications.