Arsenal Football Club and Cooper Tire Europe have announced a new long-term agreement that will see the Melksham-based manufacturer of 4x4 and performance passenger tyres become an official partner of the Club.

The partnership which will begin ahead of the 2014/2015 season was announced at the Arsenal Training Centre, with first-team members Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.

The exclusive sponsorship designates the 100-year-old Cooper brand as the first 'Official Tyre of Arsenal Football Club' for Europe, Russia, Middle East, South Africa and selected North African countries. It will involve the development of various advertising campaigns, marketing programmes and promotions designed to increase awareness and visibility of the Cooper brand.

The Cooper brand will be present across Emirates Stadium, with the sponsorship including pitchside and matchday programme advertising. Cooper will also be hosting customers from Europe, Middle East and Africa at Arsenal home games. Dealers will be supported with a range of in-store point of sale materials and Cooper will be developing content and competitions to further promote the partnership.

The partnership which will begin ahead of the 2014/2015 season

Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal sales and marketing director, said: “We’re thrilled to have Cooper Tire Europe on board and they join our expanding family of Commercial Partners. Cooper is clearly entering an exciting new era and going from strength to strength as a brand, so now is the ideal time to welcome them to the Club as an Official Partner.”

The agreement comes as Cooper, who operate a wide range of motorsport activities from rallycross to single-seater racing, continue a major marketing drive across Europe, which includes high-profile advertising campaigns and the appointment of key brand ambassadors, including ex-F1 star and BBC pundit, David Coulthard.

Sarah McRoberts, marketing communications manager for Cooper Tire Europe, said: “We’re extremely happy to have secured this agreement with Arsenal Football Club, which is a truly world-class club. The sponsorship made perfect sense to us at Cooper as we share a real affinity with the club and its fans. Together, we are all driven by success and we’re very much looking forward to what I’m sure will be a very successful partnership.”