As Arsenal continues to earn accolades for its remarkable performances during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, financial experts are increasingly fascinated by the relationship between trading on global market indices and high-profile football success.
Arsenal amassed 91 Premier League goals (the club’s highest ever) and 89 points during the 2023–24 season, finishing just 2 points behind Manchester City. This article explores the extent to which success in football can affect the trading behavior of global market indices and the implications for firms trading in index-based instruments, in addition to analysing the reasons behind Arsenal’s resurgence and the impact of shifting trading sentiment in the sports ecosystem.
The Link Between Football Achievements and Market Indices
Clubs gaining significant brand equity for themselves, especially when in the limelight, tend to have a short-term impact on retail trader and investor behavior, especially in markets where soccer (football) is culturally or economically dominant. Arsenal’s recent campaigns have reignited the debate on how football accelerates or catalyses the momentum for market activities beyond the pitch.
As much as Arsenal is considered a “big club,” they do not exert influence like Manchester United or Juventus. However, they still hold some influence over share prices. Traders use wider indices and more economic data as proxies for sentiment. For instance, a Champions League run by a Premier League club is often considered a good reason for traders to engage in speculative activity in UK-centric index products. Arsenal winning a game does not mean the FTSE 100 will explode in value, but for index traders, the willingness to engage in indices is often influenced by the state of confidence in the nation.
The term indices trading is used to describe speculation on the performance of a set of shares representing a certain country, sector or region. It does not mean buying shares. News, economic data, and, more recently, mass sentiment, especially tied to sports, can trigger movements. Major victories or dramatic season endings drive activity because traders expect a more immediate, enhanced response by the country or the economy in question.
Arsenal’s 2024 Performance: A Catalyst for Sports Traders
Winning the Premier League for the first time since 2003 and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2024 brought Arsenal’s commercial and footballing profile impressively in line with the club’s revenues for the first time in nearly two decades.
Arsenal shattered the £600 million revenue mark (after eclipsing the £500 million mark in 2023 with £511 million) for the season, rising more than 30% compared to the previous year. The club has been operating at a loss in the previous years, but further revenue diversification, chiefly coming from broadcasting, commercial deals and new sponsorships with clubs and companies from Saudi Arabia and the USA, helped Arsenal turn a profit in the books for the first time in 4 years.
As expected, the club’s performance as well as the new revenue streams caught the attention of sports traders. There was increased activity on trading forums, especially in the UK, European, and Saudi trading axes. While causation and reasoning can always be doubted, it is common to associate the performance of a football club’s activities on important matchdays with a spike in trading activity on UK or European indices.
This is very important with respect to trading platforms that have been set up for trading instruments with short-term timeframes. In this case, traders can speculate on a particular index’s rise and fall without having to be in a long position. High-profile sporting occasions can serve as short-term trading stimuli; for example, a speculative rise in UK index instruments trading is associated with Arsenal displaying good performance and winning European matches at night.
Understanding Indices Trading Platforms and Their Role
With indices trading, participants are able to speculate on markets and entire indices such as the FTSE 100, S&P 500, or DAX 40, without actually owning the underlying stocks. Access to these instruments is typically obtained through CFDs, with index futures or spread betting as alternatives.
As with any investment, risks are present. However, trading indices comes with inherent flexibility to go short or long, utilise leverage, and manage risks. In contrast to share trading, index trading is often more sensitive to news and shifts in sentiment. For those who bet on sports as a reflection of society, this option is attractive, although very volatile.
Access to the indices is often provided through trading platforms, which enable users to respond to various global political events, seasons of earnings, or even sporting milestones. Retail traders operating on fast-moving sentiment tend to flock to these platforms around international football windows, with the German and UK and broader European indices being the most popular.
Wider Implications
The peak of an economically important phenomenon is the intersection of financial and cultural milestones. Winning a championship title can boost a nation’s morale, which in turn can influence sentiment- and mood-based indicators. Arsenal, with some of the highest scores in the season and brilliant European performances, seems to be at the forefront of this debate in the UK.
While central bank strategies and macroeconomics influence the FTSE and DAX, retail flows are influenced more by momentum trading. Football, particularly in regions where it has a massive following, offers such emotional highs and lows.
At times, this can help shape market strategies, as some platforms aim to onboard new users during sports seasons or run offers in sync with major matches. Whether this user growth is sustainable is a separate question. Nonetheless, data shows significant volume spikes at crucial football moments, especially involving teams like Arsenal.
Looking Ahead
The Gunners’ re-emergence has been both a footballing story and a financial one. Their performances over the past two seasons not only altered the storylines of the Premier League but also created new financial narratives. Among retail investors, the correlation between sports and working a trading desk is more pronounced, albeit erratic.
The only certainty is that the beautiful game now has a far greater impact beyond the 90 minutes. For traders, market analysts, and even enthusiasts, top-tier clubs like Arsenal do not simply influence title races. Rather, they shape interaction with market dynamics around the world.