Why Arsenal made a bigger loss in 2023 than 2022 as financial results released

Arsenal have now filed their accounts for the year ending 31 May 2023, and have revealed the club made an overall loss of £52.1million. That figure is increased from the 2021/22 season, when the club confirmed a £45.5million loss.

The Gunners state that the figure was impacted by «impairment write-downs on certain player registrations amounting to £18.1million», which are classed as an exceptional item. The loss before tax amounted to £34million.

'Impairment write-downs' are an accounting term which mean that an asset has depreciated in value. With regards to football players, this means the club do not believe they would be able to realise the value in their accounts — examples would be selling at a perceived loss or terminating a contract early.

The £18.1million loss in this regard is up from nothing in the previous year's accounts, and profit on player sales has also fallen from £24.2million to £12.2million. Net interest costs have also risen from £5.2million to £6.2million, while property trading profits have fallen from £2million to £800,000.

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However, this is a big boost for Arsenal in that their adjusted operating profit from football has risen from £80.8million to £116.1million, thanks in part due to their inclusion in the UEFA Europa League as well as their strong performance in the Premier League, which brought about an increased broadcasting revenue of £191.2million — up from £146million the year before.

Matchday revenue and commercial revenues were also up by £23.2million and £27.6million respectively, while wage costs grew by £22.6million, which the club say was