An open letter to all Arsenal fans – especially those that want the club to back Arteta
The football world is in big crisis, and maybe it’s time for Arsenal fans to take it seriously. Only Manchester Utd have higher revenue from a matchday than The Arsenal which means we are more dependent on matchday revenue than other top clubs. One season without fans mean that Arsenal lose at least £96m – compare that to Chelsea (£67m), Man City (£55m), Leicester (£15m) and Wolves (£12m).
What sort of club do you want? Do you want a club that spend beyond their limits, or do you want a well-run sustainable club that don’t risk the club’s future? Some fans want our billionaire owner Stan Kroenke to use his fortune to fund new signings but that will never happen.
When the battle of the Arsenal ownership began during the 2000s several Arsenal fans and groups showed – in discussions, blogs, banner in stadium, interviews, social media, AST annual membership surveys etc – that they were against the “sugardaddy” model. The former board and major shareholders like Danny Fiszman took notice. Arsenal fans decided that they wanted a club that are dependent of their own revenues (in other words – the fans money).
The reason The Arsenal are in a financial crisis now is because the club don’t get any money from the fans – the same fans that urge the club to back Arteta in the transfer market. If we (the fans) want the club to back Arteta we need to back the club. With a billionaire owner many will find that as strange and ridiculous despite that this is the business model the fans have chosen.
Yes, in a perfect world Stan Kroenke would suddenly turn into the sugardaddy we opposed during the 2000s but he won’t. What I do know is that he will probably not be around year 2050 when I’m 60+ (if everything goes as planned) and my life (and many others) would be emptier if The Arsenal doesn’t exist or can’t compete for trophies.
I care about The Arsenal and I want the club to remain a top club in 30 years, but without revenue The Arsenal will probably fall behind during the pandemic. Therefore, I urge every fan to ship in a sum that they can afford. Buying merchandise is one way but as I believe that Adidas get a part of that money it would be great if fans also sign up for one or two Red Memberships (if you already have one, sign up a family member).
Red Memberships Lite costs £29 – that’s 4 pints if you live in London.
Red Membership Full costs £36 and includes an official Membership Pack (the official handbook for season 2020/21, exclusive playing cards and Arsenal pin badge).
https://www.arsenal.com/membership/red
Normally UK and foreign fans spends a lot of money to watch The Arsenal and with millions of fans around the world the fans can make a difference – like we do every season. Don’t wait until the pandemic is over, because it might be too late by then.
Take care
@swedjournalist (Twitter)