Arsenal staff were informed yesterday that the club’s Chief Commercial Officer, Juliet Slot, has decided to step down; a story broken this morning by social media account @HandofArsenal.
Slot arrived at the Emirates with almost 30 years’ commercial experience in sport, having held senior roles at Ascot Racecourse, adidas, Fulham, the London 2012 Olympic Games and sports communications agency Pitch.
After years of commercial stagnation, brought on in part by Arsenal’s absence from the Champions League and the financial impact of the Covid pandemic, one of her first priorities was renegotiating the club’s flagship partnerships with adidas and Emirates. Both deals were extended on significantly improved terms.
The controversial Visit Rwanda agreement was also renewed during her tenure, although the club ultimately opted against extending it again earlier this year as the political backdrop became increasingly difficult.
Behind the scenes, Slot oversaw a rapid expansion of Arsenal’s commercial operation, with the aim of building one of the strongest sponsorship portfolios in world football while also transforming the club’s retail business.
Rather than relying on a handful of headline partners, Arsenal now boast a broad mix of global, regional and official sponsors spanning everything from airlines and sportswear to laundry detergent, cybersecurity and trading platforms.
The growth has been so significant that the partner section at the bottom of Arsenal’s official website recently had to be redesigned simply to accommodate them all.
Among the brands to join the commercial portfolio during Slot’s time at the club are new sleeve sponsor Deel, itself no stranger to controversy, Meta platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, Google Pixel, and household FMCG names including Coca-Cola, Guinness and Asahi.
As we understand it, the board have been aware of Slot’s plans for some time and she leaves on her own terms following another successful round of commercial renewals. We are expecting confirmation of an extension to Arsenal’s long-running Emirates shirt sponsorship and stadium naming rights agreement in the near future.
Although Arsenal recorded a pre-tax loss of £1.4 million in their most recent accounts, overall income reached a record £691 million, up from £616.6 million in 2024, while commercial income rose by almost 21% year on year. During Slot’s tenure, commercial income has almost doubled, increasing from £136.4 million in 2021 to £263.2 million in 2025.
Considering Arsenal have since won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, the next set of accounts should underline just how much the club’s commercial position has strengthened.
We don’t expect the club to formally announce Slot’s departure, but it feels only right to acknowledge the job she has done. We’ll keep an eye out for news of her successor.