Arsenal may have had to keep finances tight in the past whilst we were paying off the club’s stadium debt on the Emirates, but now that the debts are completely repaid, it leaves Arsenal in the position to spend with no restrictions.
Arsenal have always had money to spend, especially for the last two seasons, where the transfer funds have reportedly been astronomical. However Wenger has always been hesitant towards spending such large quantities of cash and although I’ve always supported the approach that Arsenal have maintained by not spending obscene amounts of money, this summer Arsenal really need to splash out to not only catch up to their rivals, but to also really build forward towards tackling the upcoming season.
Arsenal have currently spent between around £35/£40 million, depending on the undisclosed transfer amounts. This follows on from the signings of Xhaka, Asano and Holding. In comparison to what our rivals in the Premier League have spent, especially City and United, Arsenal’s summer has shown little movement and we desperately need to sign a few more quality faces if we are going to truly challenge for the league this season.
Wenger has always been reluctant to spend, however according to the latest media reports, the board, chairman and shareholders have ensured that extra funds will be made available to Wenger in order to secure the targets he wants.
Wenger will be given full financial support to get the deals surrounding the priority positions we need to improve on at Arsenal including centre back and a striker. Possible names include the likes of Lacazette, Mahrez and Mustafi, all who Wenger is supposedly trying to get over the line, with all three expected to cost at least £80 million combined. It would be a major investment from Wenger and an approach we are not used to at Arsenal, but Wenger must realise that this may be his last shot at winning the Premier League again under his management, something which may convince him to go all out on the spending.
By AH