Arsene Wenger did not come out and completely confirm the recent Arsenal transfer rumours about the big wage demands of the club’s two biggest names Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, with both the German and the Chilean currently in talks over new contracts with the club, but he did seem to suggest in an Evening Standard report that they were likely to be getting more money and being the best paid Arsenal players if they do sign new deals.
But he also admitted what a lot of Arsenal fans have been saying for years, that the top players do not want to play for a club that does not have a good chance of winning a major trophy like the Premier League or champions League. The two back to back FA cups did help and probably made it easier for Wenger to convince the club’s stars that Arsenal were a good prospect, but you get the feeling that the collapse of another title challenge like we saw last season may just give us a big problem with the likes of Ozil and Alexis.
The Frenchman said, “I think these kind of players they can raise a little bit above the financial aspect of the game because they are not poor and they have to look really on the football side.
“Do the club meet their needs on the football front? If ‘yes’, then a Premier League club can find an agreement with the players. We still keep values we have at the club – we pay what we can afford.
“We have still a scale of wages. It has become a bit more individual than when I arrived 20 years ago because every case is a bit special.
“If you were a player you would try the same. You try to earn as much as you can. Honestly, my whole life I fight to get the players paid as much as I can. I want as well to be responsible, to pay them the money you can afford to pay.”
The boss says that the club still has a wage scale but it does not really sound like it with Ozil and Alexis set to earn a lot more than most and I have no problem with that if it keeps the best players in north London. The question is, can the Gunners fulfil the other big criteria of challenging for top honours?
Bob.