Piers Morgan slams Arsenal for 'shameful' retrenchment of staff

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan could not help but show his disgust following the announcement by Arsenal FC that they have proposed 55 redundancies in their non-playing staff.

The outspoken presenter has always used his social media accounts to express his opinions about current events and pressing issues. He has also been a self-proclaimed Arsenal fan but he could not find it in himself to support the club's latest decision. In a tweet, Morgan wrote, "Arsenal firing 55 staff when we're owned by a multi-billionaire, have just made £££ by winning the FA Cup & qualifying for Europe, & pay Mesut Ozil £350k-a-week to sit on his a***, is morally indefensible & not what I expect from a club with our heritage. Shameful decision."

The harsh comment comes after the club's statement on Wednesday, saying that "Unfortunately, we have now come to the point where we are proposing 55 redundancies."

In the same statement, the club said that "Our main sources of income have all reduced significantly. Revenue from broadcasters, matchday and commercial activities have all been hit severely and these impacts will continue into at least the forthcoming 2020/21 season."

However, players are reportedly disappointed and feel betrayed after the announcement. When the pandemic started, a majority of the squad took a 12.5% pay cut with the understanding that their "sacrifice" would help the club's staff retain their jobs. However, a few months down the line, 55 people are set to lose their income in the middle of the still raging pandemic.

Mesut Ozil, who was singled out by Morgan, refused the pay cut only because he wanted more information about how the funds will be used. He volunteered to accept a bigger cut if the club was able to show that the money would be utilised effectively. Now, it appears that the other players are also demanding for an explanation.

As pointed out by Morgan, Arsenal is owned by multi-billionaire Stan Kroenke through Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. The club says that the club has already received significant assistance from the owner through the refinancing of their stadium debt.

However, the redundancies of 55 employees still leaves a bad taste in the mouth for the players and fans. It remains to be seen how Arsenal will respond to the backlash.