Arsenal Plan To Lay Off 55 Staff Amid Huge Wage Bill

Just days after beating Chelsea 2-1 to win the FA Cup on the strength of which they have qualified to play in the Europa League next season, Arsenal FC has said it would sack a whopping 55 Staff.

This is even as the club continues to negotiate the stay of prolific forward, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has not given his commitment to remaining at the club.

The club, according to Reuters, said on Wednesday that the cuts were the result of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement sparked an immediate social media backlash from fans contrasting the huge sums involved with keeping key players to the lost jobs of staff at the north London outfit.

Fans have already been incensed by the fact that the club pays former Germany international Mesut Ozil, who has not played since before lockdown, around £350,000 a week, with reference to his salary a common theme in hundreds of posts from disgruntled supporters on Wednesday.

Arsenal is also bidding to lure Chelsea forward Willian to the club, also on a huge weekly wage, while local media reports this week say they are offering striker Aubameyang a £300,000 a week deal to extend his contract.

The wealth of the club’s multi-billionaire American owner Stan Kroenke has risen by around £300 million this year, according to a report written and compiled by the United States-based Institute for Policy Studies, another fact not lost on fans voicing their frustration