Wenger – It’s just not fair!by DN
Arsene Wenger is not very happy that some of Arsenal’s rivals in the Premier League have had lucky breaks handed to them on a plate, while poor old Wenger has had to struggle for every penny he has earned for the Gunners in the last 20 years, and had to build the Emirates Stadium with his bare hands while being forced to sell all his best players.
West Ham United have been given the stadium that was built for the Olympics, and Wenger doesn’t sound very happy about it! “I say to West Ham: ‘Well done. You have won in the lottery and you do not need to sweat like I did for long years, and fight for every pound’,” Wenger said. “So it’s very well done.
“They have made a good deal, they have negotiated very well. It was a fight with Tottenham [for the Olympic Stadium]. For me, it is similar to the Man City situation [when they were granted the Commonwealth Games stadium in 2003]. Man City got a new stadium for £20m, basically.”
“Will West Ham be rivals in the future? Of course,” Wenger continued. “I think it will change. Tottenham will go the same way – they will create, as well, a 60,000 seat stadium and they will be followed by Chelsea. That gives more resources to everybody and will make the league more competitive.”
“I could say the first six years were very difficult financially,” Wenger said. “Going into April and thinking if you are not in the Champions League, you are in trouble – that has been absolutely super-difficult.
“Yes, West Ham don’t go through the pain. They have taken this opportunity and taken it very well. Is it fair? I leave you to that statement. Is it fair, is it not fair? It is legal.”
Wenger has already been turned over by UEFA’s failure to uphold the Financial Fair Play rules, despite being fiscally careful to only spend what the club earned, and now he sees one of our London rivals get a magnificent Stadium for peanuts. It’s just not fair!
Darren