Arsenal have recorded a huge rise in profits, or a huge plunge into the red, depending on how you want to read the latest financial figures.

For the six months up to November 2000, the club made a profit of £32.8 million - that's up from £22.1m for the same period the previous year. But... that includes the sale of Internet rights to Granada, and the huge wad of pesetas paid by Barcelona for Overmars and Petit.

But if you leave out those exceptional items, the club actually turned a day-to-day profit of £5m in 1999, to a £5m loss in 2000: blamed on the switch from Wembley to Highbury for CL games, and 'professional fees' connected to the new stadium project.

In the chairman's financial statement, it's interesting to see that we are putting a brave face on the league campaign ('the team has achieved the same amount of points as at this stage last season, but is in a position higher'), and we are 'of course optimistic' about progress in the Champions League.

The Ashburton planning application should, according to the statement, be decided in the summer.