The Premier League football season has yet to begin but Arsenal football club is already staking its claim on the title, for the first time since 2004. Last week saw the launch of the new Puma kit, and a star signing that will be wearing the home shirt and the Arsenal away kit in bid to break free of 3rd and 4th place finishes.
Last year Arsenal agreed a £150 million 5-year kit deal with Puma. This is a massive increase on the previous Nike deal and will see the Arsenal football shirt sporting the Puma logo for the 1st ever time. The brand new home shirt is modern and stylish, but the Arsenal away jersey 2014 2015 is bold and unique. The yellow and blue football shirt features straight cut sleeves that produce a striking effect, and give a modern twist to the traditional yellow and blue away kit colors. You can shop for the latest kits online at Soccer Box now.
New Signings with a New Budget
The Puma kit deal has bolstered the income for Arsenal football club. Where, many Premier League teams have been purchased by foreign billionaire investors and given the cash to splash on new football players, Arsenal has not succumbed. They are owned entirely differently and have had to closely manage their spending, without the spending power to buy top players Arsenal has performed admirably but has not contested for the top spot for the last decade.
Since 2006 Arsenal has consistently finished in 3rd or 4th place, primarily behind Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, all teams with billionaire owners. Where these clubs, notably, Manchester City and Chelsea have spent astronomical sums increasing the size and quality of their team Arsenal has been more careful with it's spending.
Arsenal and Nike had been a strong partnership for 20 years, but the value of kit deals had increased and Puma made an offer that was irresistible. Where Nike was paying around £8 million a year to manufacture the Arsenal soccer kits, Puma agreed to pay £30 million a year. The home football shirt, Arsenal away kit, and the team training kit will all feature the Puma logo from this season.
With this increase in revenue Arsenal has been able to substantiate an increased spending on top-class football players. Last season, after agreeing the Puma deal Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid in a record fee for the club of £42.5 million. He will be in the starting line-up to wear the Arsenal away jersey 2014 2015, but the club has not stopped at 1-star signing.
The Arrival of Alexis Sanchez
Last week, on the day that the new Arsenal away kit, and all team kits and merchandise were launched, the team revealed that they had completed the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. Sanchez is a Chilean football player that has been lighting up La Liga since 2011, and lit up screens this summer with his World Cup performance for Chile.
During his time at Barcelona Sanchez netted an impressive 47 goals from 141 appearances, perhaps even more spectacular is that to date he has scored 24 goals from 71 international appearances for Chile. 2 of those goals were at this summer's World Cup where Sanchez had a huge influence on the performance of his national team.
Arsenal football player Theo Walcott has publicly stated his belief that Alexis Sanchez will boost the performance of Arsenal. He is excited about the pace and ambition of Sanchez who is only 25 years old and will bring new energy to the team. As a duo Walcott believes that the opposition will fear the strength of Arsenal's scoring power. Whether wearing the home shirt or the Arsenal away jersey 2014 2015 Walcott is determined to break free of 3rd and 4th place, and make a real challenge for the Premier League top spot.
The Coming Weeks
It seems that Arsenal may not of finished spending yet. Alexis Sanchez cost in the region of £35 million and is likely to be the biggest signing of the summer, but reports are still rife as to who else will be joining the Arsenal squad before the transfer window shuts. It is rumored that the club has nearly agreed a £10 million transfer with Newcastle United for Mathieu Debuchy.
There has also been talk of Sami Khedira making the move from Real Madrid to Arsenal for a fee of £20 million. However, Chelsea has also shown an interest and he may move to the blue side of London instead.
The transfer window may see several more signings for Arsenal yet. It is looking to be a promising season for the Gunners. Get yourself ready with the brand new Arsenal away kit from Soccer Box.
