After winning the first title in 22 years, Arsenal also managed to reach the Champions League final. The June transfer window was a huge success and the Gunners bought quality players with intention to secure back-to-back titles. After two rounds of the new season in Europe, Mikel Arteta’s men have two victories. The Spanish manager was recently awarded with a new contract and became the highest paid coach in England. The next in line is Declan Rice and his contract is, according to the reports in the works already, after which the players like Martin Odegaard and David Raya will be offered new deals.Statement win, but a hard-fought one: Arsenal's seven-minute blitzkrieg smashes LilleBut, all these success stories came with a price. While awarding the players and coaches, the club’s executives decided to cut the cost on the other side, and it looks like no less than 60 employees will be sacked. In February, the Gunners announced they had almost broken even for the 2024-25 financial year, recording an overall loss of 1.4 million pounds, while posting record revenues of 691 million. According to The Athletic, the decision was made that the sacking won’t influence coaches, along with the performance backroom teams for the men’s and women’s sides, the academy, the club’s community operation, the Arsenal Foundation, security personnel and workers dedicated to the women’s setup.Arsenal could lose nine players worth 350 millionEverybody else will be in the same bubble and will wait for the final word from the club. So far, no decisions have been made regarding which departments will be affected the most. This is the second time in the last six years that the Gunners are sacking their staff. In August 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Arsenal announced 55 staff redundancies, mainly in the football, commercial and administration departments. The move was not approved by the fans, while Mikel Arteta, who agreed to cut his wage (along with his players), defended the club’s decision. Will he do the same now remains to be seen.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 2Wednesday19.45: (3.50) Feyenoord (4.00) Como (2.00)19.45: (9.50) LASK (6.00) Liverpool (1.28)22.00: (1.70) Aston Villa (3.70) Fenerbahce (5.10)22.00: (2.20) Betis (3.45) Porto (3.25)22.00: (3.20) Bodo (4.00) Dortmund (2.10)22.00: (2.25) Man.City (3.60) PSG (3.05)22.00: (3.90) Roma (3.70) Real Madrid (1.90)22.00: (2.70) Shakhtar (3.35) AEK (2.60)22.00: (9.00) Slovan B. (5.90) Stuttgart (1.30)***odds are subject to change***
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