Stop Making Excuses For Our Owner !!!!!!! by Dan Smith
Yesterday Unai Emery confirmed reports that Arsenal can only afford loan deals this month. It led to some Gooners to remind each other just how much money has been wasted, either in players being sold for too little, a high wage bill and of course, contracts being allowed to run down.
When are we going to stop making excuses for our lack of ambition? Doing that you are playing into Stan Kroenke’s hands. The American is happy for fans to spend the next few years blaming Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis. The positives in those two leaving is our owner no longer had a shield to hide behind.
Were mistakes made? Without question… But is only getting 4 million for Perez or 10 for Szczesney really as obscene compared to how much we pay for a shirt or a ticket? Surely the fact that countries are willing to pay billions for TV rights negates any bad business.
Do we pay big salaries? Yes, but not as much as the Manchester clubs or Chelsea, those we are meant to be competing with. Sorry, but as a customer, if I’m being charged more than other supporters to watch my team, then you can’t moan if that finds better contracts. Many have complimented Liverpool’s model of selling assets to rebuild their squad. Yet if you look through the history of football and your see sometimes you lose money on a player, as a big club you accept that.
Man United – Di Maria
Chelsea- Torres, Shevchenko
Liverpool – Aqualani
Spurs- Jensen
Man United/Chelsea – wages on Falcao
No one gets it right all the time. It’s convenient to say we didn’t get a fee for Wilshere, Cazorla, and won’t
one for Ramsey. No one is arguing that that’s poor management.
But under the current ownership didn’t we make huge profits on the likes
of Fabregas, Nasri, Touré, Adebayor etc? Didn’t Sir Alex Ferguson admit he was paying over the odds for Van Persie based on age? So back when our board were getting things right and we were in the champions League, why were we not spending lavishly then? Why did it take an 8-2 humiliation at Old Trafford to pressure us into replacing Fabregas and Nasri with Arteta and Benayoun? We were told we had no funds due to stadium debt. ..
Now we are being reminded how we spent heavily in the last winter window. Yet when I hear how much Aubameyang cost I never hear how we were only willing to finalise that deal when Walcott, Giroud and Coquelin were sold.
It’s the same with Lacazette. That money was recouped by selling Gabriel and the Ox. Add it all up and suddenly we haven’t spent heavily at all. In that same period, we no longer had to pay a salary to BFG, Cazorla, Wilshere and the small matter of Arsene Wengers 9 million a year. So we found ways to tighten our belts.
If we are so hard up why did we not accept Man City’s 50 million when Sanchez had less than 12 months left on his contract? A bit of clarity, we would have demanded that deal if we knew we would have no money in 2019.
*****Kroenke became sole owner of Arsenal soccer club in August 2018 after buying out minority owner Alisher Usmanov. The team was valued at $2.3 billion.*****
But of course, there is money. LOTS of money. Look at any revenue you want, Arsenal top most polls for money made.
So yes, argue that we should be more aggressive in contracts and sales but no longer let Mr Kroenke get away with it. This is why it made no difference to me who was our manager, things would stay the same based on who owns us.
Many disrespected the greatest boss in our history for what? To get to Emery’s first winter window and see him not be backed?
I will leave you Gooners with this to think about…
Let’s say Kroenke’s first shares were brought in 2007, since going off figures from Transfer league our net spend in 12 years is approx. 220 million.
Our rivals…
City 807m
Chelsea 566m
United 555m
Liverpool 303m
Meanwhile Forbes magazine in 2018 said Kroenke was worth us 8.5 Billion USD..
Enough Now!
Dan Smith