Kevin Whitcher
The revelation by Eintracht Frankfurt that the Nicklas Bendtner transfer is unlikely to happen due to Bendtner’s wage demands is an interesting development to say the least. Of course, we do not know how much Bendtner is asking for. He could be seeking for an increase on his reputed £52,000 a week existing deal at Arsenal. We simply do not know. If he is, I think it is fair to say he has an over-inflated sense of his own worth, given his record during his loan spells from Arsenal.
One question at the end of season question and answer event with Ivan Gazidis reminded the CEO that soon after his arrival at the club, he had promised supporters he would be looking at the wages issue with laser sharp focus, or similar words. Bendtner subsequently signed a renewal on his deal that upped his wages. The policy then was that the club would reward its unproven assets at a level which would ensure they remained loyal to Arsenal and not seek a move elsewhere should they develop as believed. The consequence is that when those that did not quite work out have negotiated elsewhere, financially, they are left with a stark choice. Keep taking Arsenal’s disproportionately generous pay packet or face a cut in their income. The vast majority decide economic factors outweigh any sense of footballing ambition.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it is a policy that has not really worked. A tremendous amount of money has been spunked up the wall rewarding potential instead of proven. There have been plain bad buys too. Squillaci, Santos, Park. Chamakh, at least, was a free transfer, but has received a lot of wages for not very much. There is a myth that Arsenal do not spend money. During certain summer transfer windows, this may have been true, but it should be remembered that the manager is given a massive budget to cover both transfers and wages, and decides how it is used. Gazidis’ “laser sharp focus” is not utilized in any way, shape or form. So Arsene Wenger could have used a very large pot of money differently, but significantly, when he has entered the market, at the level of price he is paying, things do not always work out.
In recent years, there have been successes of course. Santi Cazorla is an obvious example. Most now acknowledge that Koscielny and Mertesacker are decent defenders when played together in a system that means that both full backs do not bomb on. Mikel Arteta was worth the money paid for him, but is an example that sometimes you get what you pay for. A midfielder recruited after the departure of Cesc Fabregas, who was sold for three times as much. The last signing Arsenal made that made anyone sit up and take note was Andrey Arshavin. And we all know what followed.
As for the current summer, one imagines that the manager has decided he wants Higuain, but that he is negotiating hard over the fee. Additionally, with every week the player does not sign, Arsenal are saving over £100,000 in wages. Never discount that as a factor in the timing of the club’s dealings. If the manager is obsessed about every £10,000 on a transfer fee (and he is apparently a real pain to negotiate with), then saving half a million on his outgoings by dillydallying for a month is obviously going to appeal. And the idea that they want to get rid of Bendtner and Chamakh from the wage bill before adding a new name cannot be discounted.
The price for bargaining long and hard is that sometimes the club miss out on targets through not having a David Dein figure who can simply seal the deal. Dein would listen to Wenger’s view on what he was prepared to pay for a player, and for the sake of a million or two, ensure the player was secured. He’d negotiate hard, but not be bound by Wenger’s limitations.
So pre-season has begun and Yaya Sanogo has come in on a free transfer. There will be other arrivals, but there is a genuine fear that the club will be left with a lot of money in the bank that could have served it better spent on the field. A common story. They may have £70 million to spend on players but there is a suspicion that Arsenal – with a big club budget – are behaving like a small time outfit. Sadly, there is a premium to pay when it is known you have significant funds. It’s one Arsene Wenger is loath to acccept, an outlook that is holding the club back if it has serious ambitions to compete again.
Maybe Higuain will be announced as an Arsenal signing soon, but if it has taken this long to secure him, you have to wonder what other significant business is going to be done before 1st September. The club has money to spend, but a manager who makes very hard work of spending it.
