Puma & Arsenal Announce Long-Term Kit Supplier Deal

Puma & Arsenal have revealed a historic new kit supplier deal, set to commence on July 1st 2014.

Widely to believed to have been a ‘done deal’ last summer, the official confirmation Puma & Arsenal’s new technical supplier deal brings an end to speculation over the club’s future in this area, with adidas also believed to have been in the running until Puma trumped their offer.

PUMA will become the official kit partner of Arsenal. In addition to producing the playing and training kit for all Arsenal teams, PUMA has acquired wide-ranging licensing rights to develop other Arsenal branded merchandise on a global basis.

This new commercial partnership represents the biggest deal in PUMA and Arsenal's history.

Puma have quietly been snapping up Arsenal players on long-term deals over the last two seasons; existing sponsorship deals with Mikel Arteta, Bacary Sagna and Tomas Rosicky were already in place, but further deals with Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla give Puma a strong foothold at the Emirates, which was previously very much a marquee club for Nike.

Arsenal will feel little sentimentality for their previous partners, though; stating their intent way back in 2011, Arsenal announced they were seeking £25m from their next deal to compete with the £20m deals of Manchester United and Liverpool.

Should Puma have negotiated wisely, the deal could be worth £150m over five years, with likely add-ons and bonuses depending on performance.

“Arsenal have been a key strategic target for PUMA for a number of years now. Through a clear commercial vision, a well-defined sports marketing strategy and a relentless enthusiasm within the PUMA organisation, we're proud to have signed this partnership with a truly global football club.

As we enter a new era in our company history, Arsenal represents a major commercial and marketing opportunity to reinforce PUMA's credibility as a global sports brand, and we have full confidence the plans in place to activate this partnership will have a significant global impact.ĹĄ -' Bjoern Gulden, Chief Executive Officer, PUMA

A swoop for Puma, no doubt, do you think the Gunners are worth the big money, and does this cement Puma as one of the top names in the game again?

Let us know in the comments!