Arsenal Confirm Adidas Kit Deal For $391 Million Over 5 Years: Report

Arsenal will no longer be kitted out in Puma gear next season after the club confirmed their switch to Adidas once the deal with their current manufacturer ends on June 30, 2019.

The Gunners, who have been wearing football kits manufactured by Puma for the last five seasons, will make the switch to the German kit manufacturer ahead of the 2019-20 season. It was a brief stint with the Puma, also German-owned, who came in as the main jersey sponsor after Arsenal ended their two-decade-long partnership with Nike in 2014.

“Arsenal and adidas have agreed a new kit partnership, effective from July 1, 2019,” the English Premier League club communicated via their official Twitter account Monday.

Arsenal’s deal with Puma was worth £30 million ($39m) per season for five years, but they are expected to double their income with the new deal with Adidas from next campaign.

According to British publication The Mirror, the Gunners’ new deal will fetch them a reported £60 million per season. Overall, they will earn £300 million ($391m) over five years, making it the third largest kit sponsorship deal in world football behind Barcelona and Manchester United, who earn £75 million and £140 million per season from Adidas and Nike respectively.

It is the first time Arsenal players will be wearing Adidas since the 1993-94 season and do have fond memories having won two league titles under manager George Graham during the German company’s previous stint as the Gunners’ kit manufacturer between 1986 and 1994.

Former striker Ian Wright had confirmed the deal much earlier in the summer when he said he was glad Arsenal are returning to Adidas after Puma launched yet another set of unflattering kits.

"So pleased Adidas are back sponsoring after this coming season. Especially after seeing what Puma have come up with,” Wright wrote on Twitter earlier in the year.

The increased commercial revenue is certain to also boost manager Unai Emery’s transfer budget after he was limited to £70 million to bolster his squad ahead of the 2018-19 season — his first after taking over from Arsene Wenger earlier in the summer.

The Spanish manager has galvanized the team since taking over with most of the players and staff praising Emery’s detailed and tactical approach to management. After a difficult start which involved back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, the Gunners have now won nine games in a row in all competitions.

Emery is certain to spend further in the forthcoming transfer windows, but has now got everyone connected with the club excited after the gloom that surrounded the club during the final years of the Wenger era.