Arsenal are aiming to recoup north of £120m in shirt sales this season and Viktor Gyokeres is a massive boost to that target, Arsenal Insider understands.
Arsenal completed the signing of Gyokeres for a reported fee of around £63m including add-ons to finally end the club’s search for a natural centre forward.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is excited about Gyokeres joining Arsenal and the Swede has brought a real buzz with him to the club.
Gyokeres has already broken shirt sale records at the club and Arsenal Insider’s finance expert Adam Williams has explained the club’s ‘clever’ commercial strategy with their new signing.
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Arsenal’s decision to give Viktor Gyokeres number 14 shirt branded ‘clever’
Michael Owen believes Gyokeres is under pressure after choosing the iconic number 14 shirt at the Gunners, once worn famously by club legend Thierry Henry.
Gyokeres is the sort of player that thrives under pressure and the club will have thought long and hard about the multiple benefits of giving their marquee signing such a prominent squad number in the club’s history.
Williams stated: “First off, the decision to give him the number 14 shirt is clever commercially. The history behind that shirt means that it’s always going to be sought after, by players and fans, i.e. consumers.
“They’ve created their own mythology around that shirt number. It’s clearly something they’re conscious of, and I think the fact that Lewis-Skelly has the Invincibles-linked number 49 shirt is further evidence of that awareness.”
The deal to bring Gyokeres to North London may have taken its time, however, the club are now reaping the rewards off the pitch with their commercial strategies.
Williams explained: “Transfers – the pantomime that surrounds them, how they are announced, how they are marketed – that’s an industry in and of itself these days. For a player coming to the club with such a cache, it’s a real opportunity to push the margins commercially.
“What they’ve done by offering to print the name and number for free if you buy one of the 2025-26 kits is smart too. The vast majority of your shirt sales come in the month or so following release.
“There is another spike around Christmas time, but I believe it’s typically something like 75-85 per cent of your sales come in the immediate aftermath of the release.
“So you’ve got a double whammy in the buzz generated by a new signing, plus the buzz generated by the kit launch. Arsenal’s relationship with Adidas has been perfectly executed, in my view.
“It’s been a big part of scaling their commercial income, which is catching up to the rest of the rest of the Big Six again after too many years of pretty anaemic growth.“
Arsenal set £120m target from shirt sales this season
The Gunners are under pressure to deliver their first Premier League title since 2004 this season and should they complete their aim, they could give themselves a major financial boost in the process.
Arsenal want to target £120m in shirt sales this season, however, with the added boost of the Gyokeres hype and if the club should manage to win the league, a figure of £150m could be in reach.
Williams declared: “As an industry average, around 7.5 per cent of the profit on every unit or shirt sold goes to the club. We don’t know the structure of the Arsenal-Adidas deal – some clubs sacrifice a greater portion of royalties in exchange for a bigger base fee and vice versa.
“The structure of how the contracts are drawn up is far more complex than that too, with rebates for hitting certain targets and so on, plus variances in terms how the brand is licensed.
“Either way, it’s a big boost for Arsenal. They probably aim to shift something like 1.5m shirts annually, based on the data I’ve seen. From UEFA’s report last year, we know that merchandise was worth about £105m to them in 2023-24.
“That figure has doubled since 2019 and quadrupled since 2014. With the Gyokeres boost and natural year-on-year growth, they’ll be aiming for £120m or perhaps higher this season. If they end the title drought, expect sales of £150m or so.”
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