Kevin Whitcher
The figures are not spot on, but they are in the ballpark. Arsenal – not including the token amount received for Gilles Sunu – received circa £71 million in the summer through transfers. They had an estimated £35m in the kitty before that. So £106m to play with.
They have spent circa £54m. So an approximate £52m surplus there. Even totally ignoring the money in the bank, that’s a net profit over the summer of £19 million. Arsene Wenger can’t have it both ways. The next time he complains that Arsenal cannot compete with the free-spending English clubs that win trophies, he should be reminded that he does not even spend what he has.
Arsenal raised ticket prices by 6.5% for this season. They need the money because the running costs of the stadium have apparently doubled. Maybe they should take some of the untouched millions from the manager’s transfer kitty instead. The increases will make about £4 million per season, excluding VAT from those price rises. What’s the point?
As for the quality of the signings, time will tell. They will undoubtedly improve the depth of the squad (although one doubts Arteta will be available for long), and even the manager could not pretend that was healthy enough after the best squad he has ever worked with shipped eight goals last weekend. However, the feeling is he could have done so much better if he had been determined to utilise all the money available to him, and much earlier in the summer. The club would have started the season with a far more settled squad, and maybe the psychological damage and humiliation of last Sunday might have been avoided.
Incidentally, Spurs’ new signing Scott Parker was passed up because apparently, he does not have the technical ability good enough for Arsene Wenger. Sometimes, battles have to be won before you worry about technique.
It was a busy transfer deadline day, and at least there are some fresh faces. But there’s still lots of cash swilling around in the coffers. So I do not want to hear any further excuses about not having the money to compete. The club should at least have used what they have. I have no idea what Wesley Sneijder’s wage demands were, but the club could have afforded to buy and pay him out of that £52 million and no mistake. Sometimes in life, you just have to show a bit of ambition if you are going to achieve things.
Arteta reputedly agreed to a significant wage cut to join Arsenal due to the desire to play in the Champions League. Kind of says it all. With this kind of approach, I hope he enjoys this season’s campaign in Europe, as the chances of anymore look doubtful. Still, some change, and much needed, the post-weekend signings a final admittance that experience is badly needed, after spending £12 million on a 17-year-old less than a month back. That 8-2 drubbing may have been a blessing in disguise.
