Arsenal become first Premier League side to confirm voluntary player pay-cuts

Arsenal have announced that they have reached an agreement with the first-team squad over an annual salary reduction of 12.5 per cent to deal with the financial impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier last week, The Athletic’s David Ornstein confirmed that at least half of the first-team squad had accepted the pay-cuts after the intervention of Hector Bellerin and club manager Mikel Arteta.

Since then, there has been plenty of progress behind the scenes and Ornstein has revealed that 25 of the 27 players in the first-team squad have agreed to a wage reduction for the next 12 months.

Still, the club have promised to potentially repay the amount in the seasons ahead, particularly if the club are able to meet their targets which are directly related to the success on the playing field.

West Ham United and Southampton have already announced that their respective players have accepted to defer their salaries and the latter have specifically confirmed that the decision will remain in place until June 30.

The Gunners have now led the way by finding a voluntary agreement over salary cuts with their players and it remains to be seen whether other clubs follow suit in the coming weeks.

A number of Premier League stars have already started the #PlayersTogether initiative which is focused on collecting funds in the form of donations to help the NHS deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.