Arsenal signs $239 million sponsorship deal with Emirates airline

Arsenal players will wear the Emirates logo on their jerseys for another five years after a $239 million deal was signed with the Dubai-based airline. (Adrian Dennis/Getty Images)

Arsenal signed a new 150 million pound (approximately $239 million) deal with Dubai-based airline, Emirates, reports the Associated Press. Under the agreement, the naming rights for Emirates Stadium were extended from 2021 to 2028, and the team will show the Emirates logo on their jerseys for another five years (through the end of the 2018-19 season).

"It is all about giving us the resources in what we believe is a responsible and well managed way, to be able to invest in what we put onto the pitch for our fans," Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said Friday. "We have been able to talk to Emirates about the payment terms and bring some of them forward, so that we will have additional money in this financial year which will be able to invest in the summer."

Arsenal has not won a title since the 2005 FA Cup, and its last Premier League championship was in 2004.

"We would love them to win and we hope this amount of money we are paying now will help them to invest more," Emirates senior vice president Boutros Boutros said.