By David Gold
July 25 – After the bombshell that Robin van Persie would not be renewing his Arsenal deal, O2 have decided to end their association with the Premier League club as well.
The two, however, are not linked, with the mobile phone company deciding to focus on deals with England Rugby and the O2 Arena.
O2 began a shirt sponsorship deal with Arsenal in 2002 before being replaced by Emirates when the Premier League side moved into their new stadium.
They have remained a secondary partner of the club since.
The company provided Arsenal fans with services through Arsenal Mobile, as well as running a number of competitions in conjunction with the club.
The current deal was due to expire at the end of this month.
A spokesperson for O2 said: “Our current sponsorship agreement with Arsenal Football Club ends on July 31 2012 and we have chosen not to renew our partnership.
“O2 has been a sponsor of Arsenal since the launch of the O2 brand in 2002.
“Over the last 10 years we have shared a great relationship with Arsenal, first as shirt sponsors and then as the exclusive mobile communications partner.
“However as with all our sponsorship agreements we continually review them to ensure they offer the best opportunity for both our business and our customers.
“We made the decision not to renew our Arsenal partnership to enable greater focus on our existing sponsorships such as The O2, O2 Academy venues and England Rugby.”
Arsenal is financially well run, but has endured a barren spell on the pitch, failing to win a trophy since 2005.
The end of the deal will be a small financial blow, with the club waiting until their shirt and stadium sponsorship deals with Emirates run out in 2014 in the hope of increasing revenues from those sources.
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