In a joint statement put out by the club's Head of Football Raul Sanllehi and Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal said that their "main sources of income have all reduced significantly."

 

"Revenue from broadcasters, matchday and commercial activities have all been hit severely and these impacts will continue into at least the forthcoming 2020/21 season," the statement read.

 

"Over recent years we have consistently invested in additional staff to take the club forward but with the expected reduction of income in mind, it is now clear that we must reduce our costs further to ensure we are operating in a sustainable and responsible way, and to enable us to continue to invest in the team.

 

"Our aim has been to protect the jobs and base salaries of our people for as long as we possibly can. Unfortunately, we have now come to the point where we are proposing 55 redundancies."

 

Arsenal were one of the first clubs in the Premier League to have been affected by the pandemic with head coach Mikel Arteta testing positive in early March. In the league, they finished eighth this season, their worst in 25 years.