Time For Clarity by Dan Smith
I’m both depressed but also appreciate Arsenal leaking out the news that they won’t be spending heavily this January. At least we don’t have to spend the month clinging to the hope of rumours. It is worrying though that the club don’t even care about the fans from a PR perspective to even pretend they have ambition.
Normally they would send out Arsene Wenger with the company line insisting funds were there if we found someone special.
Now our recruitment team have the criteria of finding bargains such as loan deals or contracts due to expire. As we pay the most expensive tickets in Europe and share a TV deal worth billions, I think we have a right to ask for some clarity.
We keep hearing how we are a self-sustained model like that’s been success. No one is asking us to go into debt or gamble with our future. If missing two years of Champions League revenue has put us in the red, you get better empathy from gooners by being transparent. Of course that’s not true.
Even if the action plan of moving to the Emirates was assuming we would always be a top 4 side, no one could have envisaged the TV contract which in theory makes it less crucial to be in Europe.It’s not like we were big spenders for most of Kroenke’s ownership when we were in Europe’s top competition.
With Ramsey to depart we continue to lower the wage budget. Like Ramsey, while some would try to convince you Ozil might be loaned out for footballing reasons, again it would see the American save money. During our 22-game unbeaten run, he was in the dream scenario of losing two of our best players while making his customers think it was a good idea. The reality is we live in a world where Chelsea are quoting 40 million for a youngster yet to start in the League. No one else in the top 6 would try to strengthen with loans at a time they are 5th.
We simply cannot compete under the current model. Yet how can anyone give us clarity if the clarity is a lie? To give us clarity you have to say the truth. The truth is Mr Kroenke doesn’t care. That’s why he doesn’t even need to tell us what we want to hear. The man lives half way across the world, unaware that he’s not liked. We are just one of many projects in his portfolio, certainly not top of his lists. Like his American Sport franchises, he becomes rich even if we win nothing, no matter what position we finish in. He would do his image a favour by telling us if there is something stopping us from spending, but instead, he says so much by saying so little.
Dan Smith
Below is the Arsenal’s current wage structure according to Spotrac. This may not be exactly correct but can be used as a fairly accurate guide.
https://www.spotrac.com/epl/arsenal-f.c/payroll/
Player Position Annual Salary Weekly Salary
Mesut Ozil M £18,200,000 £350,000
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang F £10,400,000 £200,000
Henrikh Mkhitaryan M £9,360,000 £180,000
Sead Kolasinac D £6,214,000 £119,500
Aaron Ramsey M £5,720,000 £110,000
Hector Bellerin D £5,200,000 £100,000
Petr Cech GK £5,200,000 £100,000
Alexandre Lacazette F £5,200,000 £100,000
Sokratis Papastathopoulos D £4,784,000 £92,000
Stephan Lichtsteiner D £4,680,000 £90,000
Shkodran Mustafi D £4,680,000 £90,000
Granit Xhaka M £4,680,000 £90,000
Laurent Koscielny D £3,900,000 £75,000
Danny Welbeck F £3,640,000 £70,000
Nacho Monreal D £3,380,000 £65,000
Bernd Leno GK £3,120,000 £60,000
Mohamed Elneny M £2,860,000 £55,000
Lucas Torreira M £2,600,000 £50,000
Carl Jenkinson D £2,340,000 £45,000
Rob Holding D £2,080,000 £40,000
Alex Iwobi F £1,560,000 £30,000
Ainsley Maitland-Niles M £1,560,000 £30,000
Konstantinos Mavropanos D £1,300,000 £25,000
Emiliano Martinez GK £520,000 £10,000
Matteo Guendouzi M – – – – –
Omg crazy money or what!! Lichtsteiner on 90k??? ? no wonder we’re in a mess!!!
I was surprised to hear that Litch was only on 45 grand a week at Juve. Jenkinson was on more than that I think, or he was on 45k himself. Sanogo was getting those numbers, that is ridiculous, seriously. Then how many squad players have we got, who’re on more than that. We should be able to pry players out of other clubs more easily, only we act too gentleman like, above board and all. Klopp doesn’t play above board, I don’t think successful clubs do it that way neither. We should’ve gotten Litch when he was still a good player, his heart isn’t in it any more, he’s already mulling over his options on retirement, media, sun, coaching, that’s where he’s at.
Jeez doubled his money, for what??? These extortionate wages are a joke!
Oh yes I bet he’s quite happily mulling over his retirement with 90k rolling into his bank account every week!
He was a good player so I’ve been told… I just don’t think he’s up for the pace of the PL… not at his age!
he came on a free, any free agent who saves us transfer fee will ask for more weekly salary. logic. I see Ozil as the only big problem and selling him even for 155mil will free up much needed funds. Ramsey and Danny will be out in the summer, and new kit deal will kick in with 30m extra per year to spend, we can get 3-4 young exciting players and cover the wages too.
Worse than i thought. Players that need moving immediately (and are possible)
Cech, Licht, Mustafi, Elneny.
Miki and Ozil are going nowhere with the absurd contracts they have.
Anybody know if Licht is on a 1 year deal or 2?
1yr….. that’s more than enough!!
I wouldn’t lump Cech in there. Cech would get game-time at many clubs and he wants to play. He could still play for top sides and be successful.
Elneny, he is getting good wages, but he would move if we asked him to leave, he’d also start games at a certain club level.
Mustafi, 90k a week, for a defender, he might be difficult to move on. Something tells me – Mustafi has that hunker in quality, not even lack of gametime comes before his money ..so long as his family are happily settled.
Ozil, this is difficult, I believe Ozil would move on quickly in order to play every week, he loves playing, I think he’d be lost without it. The money though, who is going to pay it, we might have to agree to keep paying a small percentage of it, not that small though because of the size of his wage. Like how City done with Adebayor, and then Tott done it too I think.
Mkhit, again, a player of his age, who is going to give him two hundred grand a week.
People say China, but China isn’t the option, we think it is, I don’t see all the droves of top players heading out that way to double their money. Football is great, with everything that comes with it, but you go to China and you’ll only be known out in China. I wouldn’t go there, I’d love testing myself against the best and then reading things being written about me. You lose that if you go out there.
Elneny getting more than Torreira! We should soon improve Torreira’s contract otherwise another club will come in a turn his head.
Wonder what he was on at Sampdoria?
Dan, I thought your article a very fair summation of where we are. But what do YOU think we can do to change things? Most on here will agree with what you say, AS FAR AS IT GOES. On the other hand though, I suppose articles are to instigate debate rather than give answers. I have no answer , other than the OBVIOUS, which is that before anything can radically change our fortunes , WE HAVE TO RID OUR CLUB OF KROENKE, WHATEVER IT TAKES.
@jon fox ask the Newcastle fans how that turned out for them
Ethio, a totally irrelevant point to answer mine. There is a key difference which you singularly fail to mention or perhaps even to see. That is that Ashley is actively seeking to sell Newcastle whereas Kroenke is not. I do love good debate with RELEVANT comments. Yours is NOT!
I live in Newcastle and if you believe Ashley is actively trying to sell you will believe anything.
Oh no I will not! Ashley wants top dollar for his corruptly owned club and in typical Ashley fashion , is trying to screw every single penny from those who are trying to buy the club. YOU are the naive one. I live in the REAL world. Ashley is a lowlife and disgusting man and the sooner Newcastle get him out the better. It will EVENTUALLY happen. He is in a race against time to sell before relegation , which will DEFINITELY happen and thus vastly reduce his possibly asking price, while he remains, even if probably not this season or while Benitez remains, which will not be much longer with the way he is denied funds. Get real and see the FULL picture! How does living in Newcastle give you any extra knowledge either! It clearly does not!
We have to bring our young players on a much quicker IMO. Part of the reason Spurs are so successful on a budget far smaller than ours is that they actually managed to grow some of their own talents.
Would it really be so bad to bring Nelson back (he should have never been loaned out) and give him minutes every game? It is clear we won’t be able to compete on budget so we must excel in bringing along youngsters and finding the Gendouzie type bargains.
We should not dream about players being signed who cost 50 million or more.
And would it not have been better for our future to have Chambers available instead of playing Lichsteiner as CD who has no future with us? And if Chambers has no future lets stop mucking about and sell him instead of loaning him out.
As I have said before if we are never going to spend money then we MUST promote the younger players to the premiership team.I hate to say it Spurs have got it spot on
True. But you also must get lucky with the Gendouzie type signing. He could be a great one and is already contributing. It is beyond me why Nelson is not playing for us. Should he get minutes? Should he not benefit from PL experience? Should he not benefit from training with the likes of Laca and Auba etc? Should he not benefit from being under the direct coaching eye of Emery?
Jon fox
Wish I had the answer
It’s depressing as I don’t think there is one
I really don’t think he cares
I think the last decade proves that
He knows Arsenal are too loved for us to ever walk away
The clarity about our spending power was variously explained in the last thread with posts from Sue, grandad, myself and others. Basically Wenger and Gazidis stuffed us by handing out huge wages during their tenure and even if Stan wanted to invest, is hamstrung by this and FFP. Our wages and net spend over the last 10 years has been huge. As far as this window is concerned, we are skint.
So it’s Wenger’s fault? How pathetic! Even calling Kroenke Stan sounds so phoney! Kroenke should have sold to Usmanov!
Oh what are you on about? I’m not keen on him either but don’t see how calling him Stan is phoney! Yes, of course it’s Wengers fault, he endorsed sky high wages being given to average players. If you had been on here long enough you would realise I was a staunch Wenger fan, but then you see the decline over the years and the penny drops. I fell in love with the football we were playing and yes he transformed the Premier League. Trouble is he stood still while everyone else caught up and gradually overtook us.
it’s not all his fault, but the big decisions all went through him. He said this himself. Alexis and Ozil should NEVER EVER had both on the last year of their contracts at the same time. It’s such a ludicrous thing to ever allow happen. Letting Ramsey’s contract slip through the cracks too is another huge mistakes. Why Arsenal allowed 3 of the biggest assets be allowed to walk away for free is such a terrible decision. So terrible that i dont believe it was solely Wenger responsible. The board must be sleeping or not care either. Seriously, we are losing so much money that could be used to rebuild by letting Ramsey go for free. And we wouldn’t have been so desperate to keep Ozil if Alexis wasn’t attempting to leave as well. Huge mess caused by a regime that was on its final legs.
” Basically Wenger and Gazidis stuffed us by handing out huge wages” And yet I absolutely guarantee that you were one of the many, many Arsenal “fans” who would constantly attack Wenger for supposedly being a cheap/tight penny-pincher. Well, which one is it? Because they’re two directly contradictory statements, so surely you’re not telling me that you guys don’t actually have the slightest clue what you’re talking about?!
If Wenger was always the problem and such a cheap penny-pincher why have we not suddenly started spending like Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United after he left?
d, Most of us fans quarrelled with how MUCH money Wenger (and Gazidis) wasted on the poor players he brought in and at high wages, instead of bringing in better players. Since Sol Campbell left a full decade ago, he brought ONLY ONE decent quality outfield defender, in Kos, who is now past it and not really fit for purpose, in any case. THAT dreadful judgement of defenders is WHY so many blamed Wenger. It is because so much was wasted on dross and high wages for the non productive likes of Walcott and keeping Diaby around in sick bay on high wages for many years , that money was then rationed by Kroenke. He spent high fees on Ozil who has been a flop overall, despite his brilliant talent on the occasiones he can be arsed to try working , as all are expected to. He wasted approx £35 mill on both Xhaka and Mustafi, both rubbish and NEVER EVEN TRIED to stem the gaping decade long hole at DM. IT IS THE FAILURE OF THE CLUB TO DO ITS CLEAR DUTY AND SACK WENGER, , many years before they finally did, and the waste of huge millions by HIM that still impinges on the new regime to bring in desperately needed quality. If you will not see that then you are not being honest with yourself.
@d they are not contradictory statements. I never attacked him for being a penny pincher and go have a look at the NET spends of the clubs you mention and you will see we are right up there. I’ve got more clue on my 67 year old little finger than you. Check your facts and figures first!
During wenger’s era, priority was to get cheap players and turn them into gems, when people complain why we didnt attract big names he jumped and bring in Ozil and later Sanchez.
He also tried to defend arsenal like we were one of the top payer among big 5 in epl including handing over crazy contract to mediocre players like Walcott whom i believe was one of our highest top 3 earners and he repeated again with Ozil to justify we have muscle to keep our big names and in terms of performance on pitch wenger/gazidis got wrong and before they left they did it again with Ramsey with crazy contract before Emery put a break on it. Emery being new to arsenal, i have a huge trust on him on recruitment side he did it with seville for bring few players under 2mln. and end up sell a bunch of them on 30 plus milliion bracket. To conclude it recruitment had been poor for arsenal for long time season after season even those football punduts on skysports used to mention it time and time again.
Guess we will be saying goodbye to Torrreria for a big fee in the near future then??
Declan, you are right. This is the reason Aaron Ramsey has had the large upgraded wage contract taken off the table and Mezut Ozil is being frozen out of the club, because 5 good players could be engaged for the total of their wages.
For our beloved Arsenal not to sink into mid table oblivion, the Arsenal Trinity will have to work miracles and this first requires players on high wages to go, prior to the signing of the players to fill Arsenal’s deficiencies.
Stan Kroenke has openly stated that he did not own sporting teams to win trophies but as financial profit earning assets. The performances of his US sporting franchises reinforces this point. To our surprise Kroenke may support Emery in the summer, if not in the current window. Also the pigs may be lined up on the Emirates runway ready to take off.
Given that Kroenke rarely attends games at the Emirates means that he personally would not witness any demonstrations against his ownership. However peaceful demonstrations outside the ground will generate media interest, will impact on advertizers and sponsors and ultimately will come to his notice and the notice of the US media. Unfortunately empty seats will require avid Arsenal supporters to not attend games causing them to give up something they love and to their financial disadvantage.
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Not here to defend Kroenke, only the facts. His American teams, where it is much harder to build champions because of the draft and salary caps, are not all money making duds. His Nuggets sit second in the NBA’s Western Conference and his Rams had the joint best record in the NFL regular season. And if we are saddled with under performing players on massive pay packages than its Wenger and Gazidis’ fault, not the so-called penny pinching owner. As someone pointed out above, our net spend is up there with the big boys over the last few years.
Well said Declan.If someone from the Board or Club Mangement could simply gives us the financial facts as they currently are it would curb the over the top reactions of some fans who vent their frustrations on this site and others.If we have no cash to spend, fine, but please let us know where we are and give us an indication of how long this period of austerity is likely to last.Of course if the Owner really cared about the Club and it’s fans he would have had the decency to tell us the truth ere now.
Agreed ! But he is not called Silent Stan for nothing! No one else in the club will be allowed to give out anything about our financial policy. Multi billionaires very rarely say ANYTHING at all to the public. Kroenke is no exception. Outrageous arrogance but only par for the course, I’d say!
@ Grandad- There is money and Emery already confirmed this when he was giving an update on Mustafi’s injury. His words were; “It’s not easy, improving our team in the transfer market, but the club is working, watching different possibilities. Maybe we can sign one or two players.”
Yes for 2m each!!! ?
Or players on loan
Surely we can’t afford that much sue.
Hahaha MWsupporter! Wishful thinking hey??!!
Arsenal Board needs to remember we can’t accept to miss out the next UCL and they should seal deas for one Winger between :
Cengiz Under, Nicolas Pepe, Federico Chiesa(Fiorentina), and Cristian Pavo.
Also we need a strong attacking midfielder between Abdoulaye Doucoure and Isco.
Honestly Emery should be encouraged and given a significant budget otherwise Arsenal will become a cheap team.
Abduolaye Ducoure is not an attacking midfielder, he is a strong defensive midfielder who occasionally scores goals.
If Stan Kroneke is not interested please sell the club to anyone who are interested and stop wasting time here as Arsenal is a big club. He only know how to suck out all the cash from the club but not interested to invest big on players. THE ONLY WAY TO GET HIM OUT OF THE CLUB IS TO BOYCOTT THE STADIUM BECAUSE AS A OWNER IS NOT INTERESTED SO AS THE FANS. EMPTY THE STADIUM IS SEE WHETHER WHO IS BIGGER THE CLUB OR THE OWNER ?
” BOYCOTT THE STADIUM BECAUSE AS A OWNER IS NOT INTERESTED SO AS THE FANS. EMPTY THE STADIUM IS SEE WHETHER WHO IS BIGGER THE CLUB OR THE OWNER ?” Yeah, because that sounds like it would do just WONDERS for the morale of the players. What a brilliant “supporter” of this club you are.
So how would YOU propose we get Kroenke out, eh? Supposing that is that you do not (and which would be stupid) think we are better of with him. Criticism is easy . How about your solution to the MAIN reason we are financially unable to challenge at the top? Care to enlighten us with the answer?
You are right David.
Arsenal Board needs to remember we can’t accept to miss out the next UCL and they should sign one Winger between :
Cengiz Under, Nicolas Pepe, Federico Chiesa(Fiorentina), and Cristian Pavo.
Also should sign one creative midfielder between Abdoulaye Doucoure and Isco. A good midfielf and attacking line will give confidence to our defence.
Honestly Emery should be encouraged and given a significant budget otherwise Arsenal will become a cheap team!
Arsenal have given up. They have accepted that they can’t compete for top four, that why Wenger and Gazidi have jumped ship. The fact is we have a new home. Europa league.
@Gavana, I do not think they have given up because each team of current big 5 experienced these situation of missing top 4!
Two quality signings can transform the whole team (creative attacking midfielder and a sharp winger) .
Agree. Arsenal messed up with their big players though. Liverpool were able to rebuild because they sold their biggest players for a lot of money. But we are letting Ramsey go for free, and Ozil’s reputation is so poor, and his wages are so high, he isn’t worth as much as he could be. Arsenal will likely have to rebuild the same way Liverpool did, and that means selling some of our biggest stars when the big clubs come calling. Unless Kroenke suddenly has a change in heart and decides to invest more (unlikely). Things to do in the summer is sell players that dont contribute that are on high wages. Mustafi, Cech are the two main culprits that are actually possible to move. Ozil and Miki will stay just for the money and London and there’s not much we can do. But dumping players on high wages will create so much more space.
Dan, I wish Mr kroenke read your article. I’m sure a business like him won’t appreciate your comments because he isn’t really a football fan.He doesn’t care any remarks from anyone as long as his business is in good running condition. No one can stop his thirst for profit because he is a successful business man. While we want Arsenal to be title winner, Mr kroenke is calculating his profit for this year. His profit is more important than satisfaction of Arsenal fans. Sorry for your article.
Aubameyang – £56 million
Lacazette – £53.5 million
Ozil £42.5 million
Xhaka £35 million
Mustafi £35 million
Sanchez £35 million
The issue is not money available to spend but what it is spent on – I don’t like Kroenke but I cannot blame him for the manager in charge signing duds. Kroenke places faith in his manager to make informed decisions.
I have heard that Fulham are in the drivers seat for Cahill and for that I am relieved.
The January transfer market is always a minefield for clubs who normally pay extortionate prices for players.
I have read that our funds for the summer will be substantial and until evidence suggests otherwise I will go with that.
The opinions on here are simply just that…
Selling Ramsey NOW would also bring us something, no reason to keep him for 5 more months. All I know he will get injured during that and start fresh at Juventus next July!
Sell him now and get a replacement!
It’s not just a club decision. Ramsey has all the leverage. He makes more money if he walks on a free transfer.
no club is in urgent need of him now. Arsenal can’t force a transfer. What is likely is that Ramsey will sign a pre-contract with a big Euro club and move in the summer. It sucks that in the end we get nothing for Ramsey, but the club made several bad decisions that led to this happening.
Other than Mustafi, which of these signings do you consider duds? .Maybe resigning Ozil for £300+k per week was a mistake, but he has had some very good years at Arsenal. BTW I have read elsewhere that Wenger only reluctantly sanctioned Ozil’s new contract because of what it would do to the wage structure. So having lost Sanchez, it may have been a move by Kroenke and Gazidiz to head off any fan unrest. The fan base was already upset about losing Sanchez, imagine their reaction if Ozil had walked on a free transfer in the summer.
Xhaka has not exactly lit the world on fire and has made some major mistakes.
Mustafi is definitely a donkey.
And retaining Ozil on £300k a week is staggeringly poor management.
Lacazette has been reasonably good but has not been the clinical finisher we had hoped for – although he is showing much greater promise as long as he gets the games.
And Chelsea have just signed Christian Pulisic for £58 million.
Arsenal fall just a little more behind.
I don’t know.
I look at our current issues and see one common cause – the manager. Aside from Torreira and perhaps Guendouzi his signings have been very poor.
I never rated Emery and taking into consideration our current shambles I don’t see how he could possibly be a solution to anything at Arsenal – the idea is to make us better, not worse.
Emery is the problem? You realize he was given limited funds? 2/4 signings he got were good, and both of those good signings are long term players. Sokratis is a stop-gap, and Lichtsteiner is literally just a body to fill the squad. You act as if Emery had the chance to sign anybody in Europe. Wenger had those opportunities several times and blew money on the likes of Mustafi, Gervinho, Xhaka. And of course the divisive Ozil. None of these players fully lived up to their names.
Yes but that body to fill the squad is on 90k a week…. jeez that’s just sinking in……
Sue, in defense of the £90k per week for Lichtsteiner; he was on a free transfer, he was a well credentiled international with a multiple title winning pedigree in Seria A, he is only on a 1 year contract (you have to pay more for shorter term contracts) and he had to be attracted to leave his long term home in Italy and relocate to London (which is an attractive, but expensive city).
Me, I have to disagree with your assessment of Lacazette. He has been an excellent signing and brings so much to the team. His goal and assist statistics are excellent, given he suffered a knee injury, operation and rehabilitation last season. There are many other top clubs, like Chelsea and Atletico Madrid would love to have him. He has been denied at least 6 penalties for fouls committed on him in the box and another 2 for poor officiating of offside.
Wenger haters are pathetic. Tell me what club hasn’t had huge transfers that have either failed or not lit the world. Morata, Bakayoko? Pobga? Lukaku? Di Maria? Lindelof? Mangala?
Otamendi? Stones? Sisoko? Loveren? Sahko? Just to mention a few from Chelsea, Manchester united, City, Spurs and Liverpool. They are many and I don’t want to waste time listing them all because we all know them.
It’s only Wenger that must have 100% success with his signings. And across the years, Wenger recorded more successful signings than failures, and as a fact, so cheaply too.
Of all those you listed, beside Xhaka and Mustafi, which of them hasn’t been a success? Without Aubameyang and Lacazette, where would Arsenal be this season? No matter what you think about Ozil, he has given a lot to Arsenal, made it attractive for the likes of Sanchez, Lacazette and Aubameyang to join.
Besides, the money for Lacazette and Aubameyang was not invested by Kronke but was made possible by the sale of Gabriel, Coquelin, Gibbs, Oxlade, Walcott and Giroud. Wenger was never backed and no amount of revisionism can change that
This is the result of an uninterested absentee owner who isn’t involved to win trophies. It’s simply shocking how poorly this club is run; contracts, transfers, wages, etc… Our owner lets players walk out for free in effort to reduce the wage bill (according to reports) rather than selling for a profit. Ramsey holding out for a year was simply appalling, and he should have been moved on long ago.
who was to blame for the report of OX offered 180k week contract if it was true? No wonder we are in the mess we are in. Walcott was overpaid, Ozil vastly overpaid for his contributions, Mhki robbing the club blind for his wages, and the list goes on.
If we don’t have funds available, here’s a radical idea; SELL PLAYERS! Move Mustafi on for a loss if we have to, same for Mhki. CEO has to be innovative to improve the club when his hands are restrained financially speaking. Clearly Mustafi and Mhki aren’t working, so sell them for a lower cost if we have to; free up wage constraints and let us bring in better talent.
Sven can obviously spot talent, he’s doing his job, Emery is working hard to keep us from falling backward, so now Raul has to do his effing job and find a way to work through this mess.
Substandard quality on the pitch in most positions at wages only Arsenal would pay. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this mess; Merry Christmas and happy new year, you jerks.
Sven is doing his job?
Please explain to me Leno, Sokratis, Mkhitaryan and especially Lichtsteiner.
Sure he brought Aubameyang and Torreira to Arsenal and they have both been good signings and Guendouzi looks promising but overall his record is not exactly stellar.
Its just average which can be said of most things Arsenal…
You are aware that Sven is not the CEO right? Perhaps you missed the part where Sven IDENTIFIES the talent, and Raul and Emery decide which players to sign? Do you think Leno is worse than Cech? Sokratis is worse thank Mustafi or Kos? Mhki and Lichtsteiner are misses, I agree with you on that. However, with limited funds he has done better than our club has in years past, aye? Not bad with limited funds I think.
Sokratis filled a leadership role in the back 4 on the pitch. Kos was out, Holding and Mavro too young, Chambers gone and Per retired. You know of any decent CB’s with a lot of experience for his price?
Mhki is a decent CAM but garbage on the wing like Ozil; felt he was brought in as competition for Ozil, not solve the winger problem. Sven did wonderful job at Dortmund before us, Dembele being a great recent example.
Was Lichtsteiner a Sven recommendation? Not sure, but if so could it be he was brought in to fill a spot for a year not as a several year solution? Sven’s hit and miss ratio is very good in my opinion, but I guess you see things differently. Maybe if Sven can buy the next Mbappe for 10 million, next VVD for 10 million, and the next Messi for cheap you will credit him for his good business.
You are also aware that not everyone is brought in to be a starter aren’t you? We have to get positional depth from somewhere, and if our academy isn’t producing the talent, we have to go into the market. I guess you think every buy is for the starting 11?
Perhaps you should consider reasons for a purchase also, not merely name recognition, cost, and instant impact. I look forward to you revamping your comment when Guendouzi is more than “looking promising”, Lichsteiner is gone after this year, Mavro is healthy and getting oportunities, and Mhki is replaced by Nelson or another Sven transfer.
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The STCC (Fair Play Rules) introduced I think in 2013 have a big effect on Clubs aquistion of new players.
I think that Kroenke would probably not being able to invest money in players even if he wanted to,which he was unlikely to do anyway.Arsenals wage bill is massive and no matter how much is or was available to spend on new players the salary demands of which would add to the existing wage bill and bring us up against the Fair Play rules.It seems the only way forward is to reduce the wage bill by parting with players at the high end of the age scale. This explains to some degree the clubs treatment of Ramsay, Ozil and to a certain extent Lacca. Player need to be moved on, particularly those who do not fit in Emery’s plans. Fans should not expect any marquee signings, many of which are over priced and have high wage demands.
PatH, you are correct in your assertion; however in Lacazette’s case where would Arsenal be able to get a striker of his quality for the wages he is on?
They are few and far between and he is worth every penny in the current market. Secondly, what happens to Arsenal if Aubameyang is susended or injured?
Without Jan investment have zero chance of top 4 –
Which means less income, and cannot attract top top players. And worse – may lose some!
So we’re in sh*t street!!
Only because Arsenal fans have allowed it to happen.
Do what Real fans do.
Raise enough shite until changes are made.
One way or another…
I read the posts of people here and I can only say one thing.
Well done Stan Kroenke!
Take them for every penny you can – build their hopes, get their season ticket revenues, charge the earth for merchandise. Maximise the match day revenues by ripping off people too stupid to do anything about it
Get rich by taking advantage of peoples loyalty.
That is a business model that does not take into the consideration the feelings of fans.
You people are right – he doesn’t care what you think.
In fact, now that he is THE owner of Arsenal FC the Arsenal Supporters Trust will have no say whatsoever.
Unless….
You start using the grey thing between your ears and boycott the games, stop paying the extortionate prices for merchandise (£60 for a shirt that costs £1.50 to make – really?)
Supporting a club is not always about attending the games – it’s about doing what is right for the club. Kroenke will not be bothered about your concerns for the club. He won’t care that the team is struggling or we are being assassinated in the media practically every week. He will not care that Spurs and Chelsea have overtaken us in the league. He will not be concerned about whether Arsenal will be playing in the Champions League next season.
All Kroenke is bothered about is bottom line profits.
Hitting his profits is the only way forward.
Arsenal can lie as much as they like about attendances – the TV commentary does not lie.
Arsenal fans just need to grow a backbone and do the right thing. Boycott the games and make the atmosphere toxic enough to force his hand.
It worked in removing Wenger….
I was with you until your last paragraph. Making the atmosphere ‘toxic’ will not work for Kronke.
His record in the States show that he couldn’t careless about the state of the club as long as he can pocket the incoming cash.
If the stadium becomes ‘toxic’ he will leave it to those running the club to get on with it.
Unfortunately he wont take the money and run.
He will take the money and stay and stay and stay taking the money.
@leon-So you are basically calling all fans that attend the games “THICK and STUPID”.Why would I give up my season tickets (Home AND Away) to offer my protest against Kronke?Why would any sane Season Ticket holder do this?You seem to put the blame on the supporters who do attend the games for not protesting against Kronke But you are pretty stupid if you feel it is our fault.
Your comments are so contradictory that its embarrassing.I believe there are 42,000 season ticket holders at the Emirates with over that number still on the waiting list.Do you seriously believe if I gave up my two seats they would not be snapped up by supporters who would do anything to get hold of them?And to say Kronke Just sits there taking the profits is wrong.His investment is just that.An Investment.I understand he did originally take £3m a year out of the Club for “Consultancy” fees but stopped this a few seasons ago.If he can afford to live without those fees do you seriously believe this guy is short of a few bob?
Is Arsenal Football Club has ZERO income then yes he is well and truly F**KED But this is not the case is it?With no supporters the team would suffer more than the Club and the supporters would lose something that is most of our reason for living.I cannot imagine my life not supporting Arsenal.Yet you seem to believe myself and many others would give that up for a futile process.I wonder how many games you have EVER attended.Probably NONE.Which is why you come out with such childish and idiotic comments.
The fans (88% according to this Forum) wanted Wenger out and got their wish.They did that by not giving up their seats and I’ve no doubt Kronke will very soon know the feelings of the supporters if investmentvis not made.
Going back to us supporters using the “Grey matter between our ears”.With what you posted I would suggest you have nothing there at all.Pathetic comments from a Supporter who knows NOTHING about the level of support this Club will ALWAYS have
Phil, I do usually agree with what you say and your comments do make sense, however, continuing to pay silly prices for a season ticket, in my opinion, mutes your moaning about how things are. I’m not saying you always moan, what I am saying is if you continue to pay for a season ticket you have the following options A) stop winging about the club as you are helping to continue the trend of Kronkie “I’ve got the money so who cares about the club” philosophy. B do something and give up your ticket and only go to games your interested in. I love our club but I won’t continue to pay money into something that is obviously fruitless. This i won’t give up my ticket because someone else will have it doesn’t make sense. However, if your happy to put up with things how they are please continue, its your money how you waste it is down to you just stop with the silly excuses
It wouldn’t matter if he gave his ticket up because like Phil said there’s always fans waiting for them , it also doesn’t matter if fans don’t attend the match days because the club always give out a false capacity anyway .none of theses thing will change how arsenal are run and I’ve come to realise that we will just have to go along with the way Stan wants to run the club .
Like it not he’s here for awhile yet
Going to matches is a way of life for some supporters I would never mention how other people should spend there money ,unless it’s Stan ofc
Sorry John But I do not consider my having a season ticket and refusing to attend matches are at all relevant here.I first had a season ticket in 1968-69 season at 12 years old and have had one every season since.Why does anyone feel I would give that up for this owner?I can tell you that from 1974-77 this Club was in a far less healthy position than it is now.It was the same from 1981-86 as well.
The only thing missing at our Club is the level of financial support needed to compete with the other top 5 Clubs.No matter how good the youngsters are that are coming through from the youth team we need to spend heavily over the next 2-3 windows to at least get us back to a level playing field.And let’s not forget all the other Clubs will be investing as well.But exactly how much is required?We had a nett spend of £100m over the course of 2018 and will need at least that again just to keep pace.But it’s WHO we buy and at what COST that will determine our near future.Two CB’s are a priority.A CAM to replace Ramsey is a must.And at least one Winger is an absolute must.Will Kronke sanction this level of investment?We can only wait and see.
But Season Ticket holders not turning up for games will not make a difference.I paid my money last May for this season.And will do the same this May for next season.But the vitriolic abuse and toxic atmosphere Wenger got eas created by supporters INSIDE the Emirates and Away grounds.Not by supporters sat at home.What Wenger got was totally deserved as far as I am concerned and that was during a season with a very very decent home form.Kronke will not be let off so lightly I can assure you of that.Wenger was a servant of OUR Club.Kronke OWNS OUR Club.He saw first hand how Wenger was treated and he will not want to be exposed to that level of hate.IF,and it is a big IF,the finances are given and the players we need are brought into the Club then Kronke will have at least be seen to have backed the Management team.Then it is up to Emery.
This is going to be a very interesting January.
Phil, I think there’s a conspiracy going on here led by John0711, trying to make us give up our season tickets so they can move up the waiting list. Incidently John what’s the 0711 for. I think it’s when you started supporting Arsenal, July, 2011. I may be wrong.
You say Silent Stan is in it for the investment and I fully agree, he is from what I can tell, he is not a gooner like you or I.
When we look at investors then we see people who like to see their asset increase in value which in turn increases their portfolio.
I have read a lot of moans about how Silent Stan is the reason we are not competing, he doesn’t invest his own money blah blah, non of those comments seem to take real life as part of the picture. He doesn’t take money out (as you said), he hasn’t pumped cash in but he can’t really unless he potentially breaks FFP. City and PSG have abused the rules a lot to the point any other club will suffer unless they have the funds to threaten UEFA. Silent Stan can’t just pump cash in…. Although I would be happier to have ASDA on the shirt than Emirates human right abusing scum…
I honestly believe and I have been saying since Gazidis left, I honestly believe we make the funds to compete with the big boys but we have spent it very poorly over the past 5 years to the point that we need to rebalance the books which will take a season or two.
Raul wanting to put emphasis on self developed talent and happy to pull silly contracts will help to sort us out before too long and we will be able to act like a real big boy again. ^.^
Uani Emery was solely picked beacuse he was able to tell them that he can work on a small budget and bring in youth players. He has already found out there is no backing for him in the transfer window, and there most likely won’t be unless we get into UCL. I think the best Unai can do is go to his former club Sevilla and get 1 or 2 players in cheaply right now. He should switch to back 4 as well, since 3-5-2 doesn’t make a difference to the defence.
The new signings as a whole have been woeful.
352 has made a difference, Kola is a beast of a LWB but a joke of a LB.
Firstly, I wonder how this company has got these very personal and private details of every player on the staff at Arsenal?
If someone can prove these are factual figures I will be amazed.
Only AFC, the players and their agents can be privvy to this information.
There is no breakdown as to the clauses within the figures and we should not be misled by them.
However, let’s assume they are a ballpark figure and discuss them:
Nothing has changed since AW and Gazidis left the club, players are still being offered salaries that do not indicate their abilities.
That’s despite bringing in UE and the three musketeers.
The owner is the same person.
The contracts are still being mishandled.
The injuries are still happening.
The transfer kitty is still in the same ball park.
The players available are therefore still second rate.
The success of the players signed are still below par.
The new manager is still working under the same restrictions as the old one.
It is a tragedy that with one person now owning the club, we cannot even ask questions and expect answers as to where the money from new sponsorship, past CL, top 4 and cup runs have gone.
It is time for the fanbase to accept this unpalatable fact and also the folllowing:
We are not a “big club” anymore, financially or successfully.
We are not able to compete on the field.
We are not able to compete off the field.
We have to gamble with our signings.
We are not going to get every transfer correct.
We have been punching above our weight during the “barren” years that now seem miles away from being matched, let alone eclipsed.
What can we do about it?
Firstly, give UE the time to put his mark on the club.
Secondly, wait and see if kronkie does change his spots ( after all were we not told on here that his son would be the saviour? Nobody has mentioned him since UE arrived).
Thirdly stop looking backward because the past can never be changed…no matter what views one holds.
Fourthly, be realistic about the club under kronkie and UE, THEN DECIDE if you are prepared to support it under those circumstances.
If you are then get on board and support the club, if not then step away from the situation and come back when kronkie leaves and you feel you can give the support needed.
The division within the fanbase is so toxic it’s even seeing s/ticket holders being questioned, what a ridiculous state of affairs.
Ken, an excellent post.
Let’s face it there are many on here, who have followed the Arsenal through thick and thin; through good times of great success and bad. For many this commitment to following the Arsenal has been at considerable financial and personal time cost.
It is completely unreasonable to ask people to give up season tickets which they have waited years to acquire; particularly when so many others are waiting to snap them up and should things improve they will have no chance to get those tickets back in their lifetimes.
Peaceful demonstrations inside and outside the Emirates may work; however we should wait and see what happens during the current and summer transfer windows. I have faith in Unai Emery and the Trinity.
As an Arsenal supporter primarily from afar for 57 years, I will follow this Club wherever it goes, even that meant relegation. That’s what football supporter’s do, unless you are a plastc fan who only supports “winners”. My cousin in Hornchurch Essex has followed Spurs for his whole 90 years and I am glad that he is now able to follow a winning team; notwithstanding the lack of trophies. Imagine the commitment of fans of great clubs like Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Leeds United; they must wonder at the relative success of the Arsenal.
Am I the only one reading these comments and shaking my head in disbelief? Sure we aren’t in great shape but I would have thought a 23 game unbeaten streak and some positive signs that our soft Arsenal tag is disappearing would be enough to stave off the calls for boycotts and protests that divided the club for years. Everyone needs to calm down a little. P.S. nice post above Ken1945.
I feel season tickets holders will be keen to see if the club reciprocate their payment with the investment.
People ain’t stupid and Kroenke will soon feel the power of the fans if he tries otherwise.
He has no love for the club. I doubt he will get by a single day in the club if there is no money coming in. Hope those who thinks fans can’t get rid of owner, read the above.
The running cost of the club alone will kill him. Never mind whether how much money he has got.