I was somewhat surprised to hear Arsene Wenger saying that the last four years at Arsenal were his best. This was on the basis of the constraints placed on him by the stadium move, so I decided to look into the figures a bit deeper, all the while acknowledging that you can make numbers say anything.

Firstly, let me say that I sincerely love Arsene Wenger but:
Man Utd wages + net transfer spend over last 5 years = £548m
Arsenal wages + net transfer spend over last 5 years = £447m
Everton wages + net transfer spend over last 5 years = £211m

Villa wages + net transfer spend over last 5 years = £231m

(all figures last five financial years available from Deloitte)



Return?
08/09 -
Man Utd 1st, Arsenal 4th, Everton 5th, Villa 6th


07/08 -
Man Utd 1st, Arsenal 3rd, Everton 5th, Villa 6th


06/07 -
Man Utd 1st, Arsenal 4th, Everton 6th, Villa 11th


Everton also got to the FA Cup Final last year. Man Utd have also won the Champions League, two League Cups and made the FA Cup Final in that period. 



OK, there is a big difference between 4th and 5th but overall it's hardly proportionate. On that basis, Demento, Moyes and O'Neill are doing a much better job according to Arsene Wenger's own criteria. 



Another beef I have is this nonsense about kids – the average age vs Liverpool (with Traore et al) was 24.5 years old (vs a Premier League average of between 25-26). Slightly younger yes, but that's it.

As I say I really do love the bloke but... somebody needs to be constructively critiquing what he is doing.