Arsenal are set to sign the biggest kit deal in English football with Puma as they bring to an end their 20-year association with Nike at the end of next season.

The five-year deal with the German sportswear manufacturer will be worth as much as £170m – more than £30m a year – according to the Daily Mirror. That’s even more than sponsors Emirates pay to have their logo on the Arsenal shirts, and will give Arsene Wenger, or his successor, extra financial clout in the transfer market.

The agreement is yet to be finalised but it would see Arsenal wearing Puma from the start of the 2014/15 season.

The deal dwarfs Arsenal’s current Nike arrangement, which was worth just £55m over seven years. It is larger than Liverpool’s contract with Warrior Sports, signed last year and worth £25m a season, while Manchester United are coming to the end of a 15-year deal with Nike worth £287m.

Puma have seen a commercial opportunity, says the Mirror, as the company has strong links with the African market – “an area where they believe Arsenal are particularly strong and have even bigger potential”.

The deal is a major coup for Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis. “It will strengthen his belief that the club are making major strides forward off the pitch which will enable them to compete for the biggest signings,” says the Mirror.

News of the kit deal comes in the wake of renewed optimism at Arsenal that the club is ready to emerge from a period of relative austerity. “The club have been tied down to long-term sponsorship deals since moving into the Emirates in 2006,” explains The Sun. “But they are now looking forward to capitalise on various new deals.”

Puma are said to have fought off competition from Adidas to secure the Arsenal contract. The Daily Mail reports that Adidas had hoped to add Arsenal to their roster in a bid to “own London” and notes that “Nike will now concentrate on Manchester United, Barcelona and the England team”.

Source: theweek.co.uk

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