Explained: Why Arsenal stadium move is essential amid Wembley concern | OneFootball

Gunners risk falling behind rivals without stadium upgrade but a temporary move to Wembley could disrupt momentum under Mikel Arteta

Your matchday briefing on Arsenal, featuring team news and expert analysis from Simon Collings

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A quick glance at Real Madrid’s latest financial accounts helps explain why Arsenal are exploring a possible expansion of Emirates Stadium.

The Spanish giants banked £210m from matchdays alone - double last year’s figure - as they reaped the rewards of the redeveloped Bernabeu.

Matchday income was, in fact, the fastest-growing revenue stream among the top 20 clubs in Deloitte’s Money League. It is a clear sign of where football is heading.

In the modern era of financial regulations, the money a club can generate from its ground is becoming increasingly important, not least because any work on a stadium is excluded from Premier League Profit and Sustainability calculations.

Arsenal want to increase the 60,704 capacity at Emirates Stadium to beyond 70,000

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Standard Sport reported in March how Arsenal had studied Madrid’s redevelopment as they consider options for the Emirates.

North London rivals Tottenham provide another example of a club maximising its ground’s potential.

Spurs have been granted permission to host up to 30 major non-football events a year at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

They have also extended their partnership with the NFL through to the 2029-30 season, while the F1 Drive karting experience, opened in February 2024, attracted 20,000 visitors in its first year.

In that sense, Arsenal risk falling behind their rivals unless they follow suit.

The club have already renovated parts of the Emirates, which opened in 2006, including installing new artwork on the exterior.

Co-chair Josh Kroenke revealed in an interview with ESPN last year that “internal conversations” were taking place about further work, and those discussions have since continued.

There are multiple stakeholders to satisfy and nearby Tube and rail lines complicate the picture.

A capacity of over 70,000 would restore Arsenal to having the biggest Premier League ground in London, overtaking West Ham and Tottenham

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

One suggested solution involves making the gradient of the stands steeper to accommodate more supporters.

Arsenal have a season-ticket waiting list of around 100,000 fans, and demand has only grown following their recent success under Mikel Arteta.

The club, of course, have been here before. Around the turn of the century, they pressed ahead with plans for the Emirates, convinced that a new, larger home would deliver lasting financial power.

But the landscape soon shifted. Broadcast revenues exploded - rising by a remarkable 495 per cent in the 18 years after the Emirates opened - while the arrival of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea and Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City rewrote English football’s financial order.

That combination meant Arsenal’s move, while visionary, failed to give them the dominance many had predicted at the time.

Now, the winds are changing again.

Commercial and matchday revenues are once more driving growth. Indeed, among the top 10 clubs in Deloitte’s Money League, commercial income is now the dominant source.

A redeveloped Emirates could strengthen both streams for Arsenal and reassert its status as London’s biggest club stadium.

Arsenal have yet to decide whether to expand the Emirates or when work might begin

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Arsenal have yet to decide whether to expand the Emirates or when work might begin. Observers have noted, however, that the ground is not among those selected for Euro 2028.

Timing, though, will be everything.

Arsenal have built a brilliant squad, one that feels on the cusp of ending their 21-year wait for a Premier League title.

The Champions League also feels within reach, after last season’s run to the semi-finals and narrow defeat to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.

The concern is that moving away from the Emirates during redevelopment could disrupt that momentum.

In the long term, a temporary stay at Wembley would not be the end of the world. But if it were in the immediate future then fans may find it harder to swallow.

Just as it was two decades ago, timing is everything. This time, Arsenal will hope it is on their side.