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The Athletic: Arsenal owe £324m as details of low-interest loans emerge

Arsenal now owe £324.1 million to their owners, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), after the Americans provided another £61.9m in cash loans last season, according to The Athletic.

The loans from KSE are not interest-free but are low-interest and have been accumulated over the past four financial years having initially come on board in 2020-21.

However, they were not fresh debt as the Gunners were already owing £218m before then, with £187m of it being bonds related to the construction of the Emirates Stadium.

KSE stepped in and refinanced the loans but were already being owed £15m before that.

The total amount the Gunners owe their owners has risen from £201.6m in 2021 to £324.1m at the end of last term, with the extra £122.5m incurred going primarily towards recruitment.

Luckily for Arsenal, the debt will not incur increased costs or prevent them from spending in the summer transfer window having opted against making signings in January.

Having impressed so far in the Champions League, the Gunners will receive a further financial boost and earn £100m in prize money and bonuses if they beat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the competition in April.

The North London club have bagged around £87m so far after progressing through the league phase and round of 16 of the Champions League, and winning it would fetch them around £135m in total.

Arsenal repaying their £324m loan any time soon looks unlikely, but they are earning well and will hope to start winning major silverware regularly to keep boosting their finances.

Having finished second in each of the last two Premier League campaigns, they are desperate to go one better this term and will strengthen their squad in the summer to increase their chances next season no matter what happens in the title race at the end of 2024-25.

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