Arsenal’s reality check: The disconnect between fans, Arteta, and the Kroenke family

Gooners are hurting right now, and in the last couple of days, they have been seeking accountability. Should Mikel Arteta lose his job? Will he start next season under pressure to lift a trophy? Should there be a review of our recruitment team for failing to bring in any attackers in January? Should our owners look in the mirror? On one hand, they are paying someone millions of pounds to run their company daily, but when that person stresses you’re short in a certain area, you fail to act. In most institutions that make serious money, that doesn’t happen.

Here’s the issue: It doesn’t matter what I write or what you comment. It’s irrelevant what 60,000 chant at the weekend or how early they leave. YouTubers can scream down the camera, but they are talking to a ghost. Pundits can critique, but they are wasting energy. The only man whose opinion matters lives in America, and not only will he not be sacking anyone this summer, he will be delighted with how things are going in North London.

Now, clearly, if a fan base is unhappy but the man in charge feels the opposite, there is a disconnect. Yet our manager is not silly. He’s cerebral enough to understand that his future is safe as long as the man who pays his wages is content. Privately, I’m sure the Spaniard at home complains to his wife that he wishes his employers had more ambition. Yet, for £9 million a year, most will tolerate it. That fee is not justified by silverware because that’s never been the criteria. Where Arteta earns his money is by smiling and being positive before the Leicester game, changing the narrative even though it contradicts his own stance. He’s paid to quote the company line, to be the Kroenke family’s shield.

This happened for years to Mr Wenger, who had his love for the club exploited. The Frenchman was willing to take the bullets because of his connection with supporters. He at least could hide behind the need to pay off stadium debt. He had to cope with selling his best talent every year while maintaining Champions League qualification. I stressed that when he left, we would realise how hard it was to ‘only’ be in the top four under the current regime.

Arsenal are just a small part of Stan Kroenke’s sports portfolio. From the USA, naturally, other domestic sports are more of interest to him. His following of the Gunners will be limited. He wouldn’t have watched Saturday’s game followed by AFTV. He probably wouldn’t be able to tell you who we have next in Europe. He might even be unaware we are playing on Wednesday. He would struggle to name you a greatest XI. He probably occasionally, on a conference call, will check in, and his advisors will tell him he’s on course for more revenue from UEFA next season. That being in the last 16 of the Champions League this campaign means an additional £12 million, and the Varsity range has sold well, and that the Emirates has been sold out every game. That doesn’t make him a bad person. There is no rule that only a fan can purchase a club. He’s a businessman. In any business, the priority is to make as much cash as possible. He’s a billionaire because he takes emotion out of his choices. So based on the income he makes compared to what he puts in, because we are a self-sustained model, he will be delighted by the work being done back in England. If he had a choice, of course, he would prefer us to end our Premier League drought, but financially, it makes little difference. The team could finish 8th, and he knows shirts will still sell, tickets will be bought, and TV companies will still want us. A genius business model. Own a franchise so huge that you make money off the brand. If 10,000 throw away their season tickets, so many more are on the waiting list.

They even manipulated customers in December during a living crisis to pay over the odds for new merchandise, yet got the same people to make excuses a month later as to why a billionaire family couldn’t afford to help the squad. I almost admire the audacity. Even if it has become Josh’s plaything, the family is not going to alter a model that has made them so wealthy. To be fair, they never pretended otherwise. Stan first joined our board in 2006! Since 2011, he’s had over 60 per cent of shares. So for 14 years, he’s had major power and control over how the club is run. The evidence has been there for over a decade that winning isn’t a priority to him. Some of my peers want to judge only the timeframe since he became the official custodian of the club. That’s either wishful thinking or their definition of a supporter having to say all things are rainbows and unicorns. I’m shocked how some have reacted like somehow the last few weeks have been any different from our reality. I’m even more astounded that they think at 77, Stan Kroenke will suddenly care. This is a man who took us to our worst league position in 25 years, zero European football for the first time in a quarter of a century, then rewarded Arteta with a pay rise for finishing… 5th! This very season, he made Arteta the third-highest-paid coach in the world! So logically, that tells me he’s satisfied with being runners-up. Common sense says if you get a pay increase for 5th and 2nd, your job is secure if you reach 2nd again.

We are the voice of the voiceless. The only way our whisper turns into a shout is if our stadium suddenly empties. That won’t happen. We’ll get to August, get excited by a new striker who will conveniently arrive before Adidas launches a new kit. The manufacturer will release a quality promotional video starring Ian Wright. This will work as many fall for the promise of more new faces, which will translate to some sort of saga that goes on the entire summer. I’ll be called negative as some call another top 4 place progress. While Arteta will get a new contract! The Kroenke family love the job he’s doing, and they are the ones who count. Not sure how we change that.