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While as recently as just over 12 months ago it would have been unreal to imagine Arsenal in such a precarious position where they’re fighting for both Champions League football and their future success beyond the next two seasons. But it has quickly come down to the fact that any slip up and failure to recover in the league could see the club in a situation where they’d struggle to regain a foothold in Europe’s elite competition and for the domestic title.
The truth is, there is potentially so much riding on Arsenal making it into the Champions League next season, part of which stems from the fact the club need to hold on to captain Robin van Persie and hold a strong hand in rebuilding the squad. With the club sitting outside the top four in the league and the teams above them looking stronger and far more consistent, it is looking more and more likely that Arsenal are about to experience their first season under Wenger where they have not qualified for the Champions League. Even after their impressive 7-1 win over Blackburn on the weekend, there is still doubt as to whether the club are able to use that result as a springboard to launch a genuine attack on the top four. However, for once this season things are starting to look bright for the Gunners, with the return of many long-term injury absentees and the fact their top four rivals are heading into a tough patch of games. But with Arsenal there are too many false dawns and the Sunderland game on the weekend and the response against Tottenham at the end of the month will be an indication of how likely Arsenal are to getting fourth place.
Aside from the importance of extending van Persie’s contract beyond next season, it is vital from a financial standpoint that the club are in a good position to get maximum revenue and start to look like rivals of Manchester United and Liverpool rather than showing the huge difference in what they’re currently receiving. With new majority shareholder Stan Kroenke now at the club, it is likely Arsenal will look to pick up sponsorship partners a little closer to home for the American. But with the lack of star power at the club and the team’s on-field performances patchy at best, it will become increasingly difficult to negotiate deals that are favourable to Arsenal’s long-term financial stability. We’ve already seen the problems that have arisen due to the poor deals the club made during the move from Highbury to the Emirates. At the time they would have seemed a good idea, especially with the club relying on revenue from the Highbury Square properties, but fans are paying for those mistakes and miscalculations five years on through the increase in season ticket prices. The fact that Arsène Wenger also comments on the fact that the club need to make a profit every season suggests the club are way behind where they need to be on the revenue front.
We’ve already seen how difficult Liverpool have found it to re-gain their position as a regular in the Champions League. A number of managerial changes and the ambitious spending of last summer has done little to shift Liverpool into the top bracket in the league on a permanent basis. With a numbers of factors currently holding Arsenal back in the transfer market and restricting them to players who often do not help the club progress to the next level, how much more difficult will Arsène Wenger, or whomever the manager may be, find it to help the club recover? Arsenal do not have the same brand power that Liverpool or Manchester United have, meaning once again they are limited in where they can shop. The Champions League has been extremely significant financially for club and as an incentive for players looking to sign with Arsenal, but that luxury might not be there if the club don’t recover this this season.
There have been far too many mistakes at the hands of both the manager and the board at Arsenal. Handing out big contracts to players in the hope they’d come good and stay loyal has significantly backfired; the club are now struggling to move on those players which is, in turn, taking big chunks out of the wage bill.
If Arsenal had not made it into the Champions League perhaps two seasons ago then the future would not look as bleak. But the failure to fully recover from the loss in the Carling Cup Final and the running down of key players’ contracts means qualifying for the competition is vitally important for a club who could struggle to stay afloat.
It might be a common theme among many Arsenal fans this morning who are mixing a sense of dread with a little bit of excitement regarding Arsène Wenger’s latest comments about Eden Hazard. Excitement, in fact, may be too optimistic; intrigue might be more appropriate. Wenger is never one to openly admit he is after a player, rather looking to take a diplomatic route in respecting a player’s club and making positive comments from afar. But Wenger has a least given some light to Arsenal’s financial state, insisting that the club needed to make between £15-20 million profit each season. What he was not clear on is how and whether if affects the club’s position in the transfer market.
It’s a welcome stance that Arsène Wenger has decided to take, if only for a very disappointing revelation. Someone from the club, who the supporters can trust, has given an indication that the club may not be in the position many would have hoped following the move to the Emirates. Players such as Eden Hazard may actually be a little out of reach and players who are on the third or fourth tier in terms of quality may be all the club can hope to bring in for the foreseeable future.
Again, it’s not entirely clear what Wenger is referring to when he says the club need to make a profit. He specifically points out that it’s the duty of the manager to determine a fair price for targets, which means he may be looking for real quality as many rumours suggest, but they are likely just out of the club’s spending range. From Wenger’s position at least, his statement will likely buy him some time. He is absolutely correct in giving fans a little bit of clarification on why he refused to spend in January-one of the reasons so much vitriol has emerged recently. Instead, the supporters’ anger should now be wholly deflected onto the board, who have seemingly put the club in this very weak position financially.
The problem again, however, is what the board have said in recent times, specifically Ivan Gazidis; saying that the club do give Wenger sole power of the expenditure at the club and would never deny him the funds to buy a player he needs. The summer activity suggest nothing of the sort and it clearly indicates that something is not right at the club. Why were the club so slow to get a deal done for Juan Mata, and then only at the last minute decide to go on a spending spree on players who may not have been desirable at the start of the summer? The is still too much uncertainty surrounding what Wenger has said and contrasts greatly with the board’s apparent unconditional financial support for the manager.
Does this mean Wenger is the only one paying any real attention to the Financial Fair Play ruling of Uefa? Is he referring to the Champions League income and in turn mean it is “imperative” for the club to finish in the top four? Perhaps he’s too over cautious in regards to the stadium debt. Nigel Winterburn spoke on the weekend of the lack of funding at the club and the lack of ability to pull the trigger on first choice summer targets. He referenced the fact that the club could not get the Cesc Fabregas deal done quickly enough and had held a very weak hand in the market. This does tie in with what Arsène Wenger has had to say. Maybe there is a reported £60 million sitting in the vaults at the Emirates, but it is untouchable. If so, why? Why increase the season ticket prices, why waste £3 million on a player the manager has no intention of playing, and furthermore, why keep insisting that the manager has the full backing of the board on all fronts?
All questions that dodge Wenger and go directly to the boardroom. Exactly what was needed. The hostilities towards the manager are getting out of hand, and he has already done too much to deflect criticism away from the board. There was nothing wrong with what Wenger had to say, in fact it was greatly welcomed and might trigger a response from those above Wenger at the club.
Written By Thomas Hallett
