Arsenal have announced a pre-tax profit of £12.6million despite spending a record amount on players, reports the London Evening Standard.
The club's latest accounts for the six-month period ending 30 November 2016 underline the impact of the Premier League's new £8billion TV deal with 45 per cent of the Gunners' football revenue coming from broadcasting.
Turnover was consequently up to £191.1m from £158m in the corresponding half-year in 2015 and enabled Arsenal to overturn a loss of £6.2m into a profit even after significant investment in the summer transfer window.
Cash reserves now stands at £123.7m and a significant portion of that money has already been committed for future investment. The club have deferred transfer fee payments totalling £64.6m with £42m due in the next 12 months.
Furthermore, £23.3m in cash is ring-fenced as debt service reserves and described as "not available for football purposes" – this is a contingency fund retained in case the club fails to qualify for the Champions League.
"The Premier League season has been intensely competitive across the top six positions," chairman Sir Chips Keswick said in a statement. "At the time of writing, we sit in fourth place in the league and with thirteen games remaining, there is everything to play for.
"We have progressed to the sixth round of the FA Cup and will compete to bring home silverware in this competition for the third time in four years and what would be a record-breaking 13th FA Cup trophy.
"Everyone, including Arsene [Wenger], our players, board and staff share our fans' disappointment at our first leg result against Bayern Munich but we will approach the second leg with professionalism and a desire to reclaim pride.
"Unity has always been one of Arsenal's strengths as a club. We are very focused on producing a positive and exciting closing run and with the support of our fans, I believe together we can achieve a successful and memorable end to the season."
Source: tribalfootball.com