7. SUMMING UP & CONCLUDING QUESTIONS

Whilst your time in post since The Invincibles hasn’t always gone smoothly Arsène, there has been progress and change since the first Arsenal Audit in 2011. You have stopped the poor trophy prioritisation and sacrificing the much more winnable FA Cup for an unlikely Champions League triumph – and won it twice more, breaking records with it. There has been the cessation of your socialist wage policy, your post-Emirates build sign-off player recruitment policy, and the end of the sale of star players to balance the books. The Club announced it was entering a new financial era and the signings of Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez added weight to that. Clearly, on paper, the team is a lot stronger. And you have signed Granit Xhaka. With the internal solution of Francis Coquelin and January signing of Mohammed Elneny, Arsenal now have genuine fit-for-purpose defensive midfield resources. You have also started to scout the opposition, embraced analytics, and performances against key rivals have largely much improved. You remain as gracious as ever to the media and often now display an honesty and humility in defeat often lacking elsewhere.
You will surely remain in the history books as Arsenal’s most successful ever manager Arsène?

At the AGM, for all the progress, change and development the Board saw in the Club Ivan Gazidis, Chief Executive wasn’t able to assure supporters that there were clear targets and benchmarks set at the start of a season or a new contract, rather he simply “wanted Arsenal to win. To win the Premier League and be one of the top teams in Europe”.
How close do you think you are?

At Jose Mourhino’s press conference on his arrival to manage Manchester United, when denying he felt under pressure, he seemed to have you in mind when he mentioned winning the Premier League a year ago and others going 10 years without winning the Premier League. However, it is of course 12 years: 2003 - 2004 and The Invincibles. It is 10 years since the Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona.
It isn’t the first time he has expressed surprise at the Club’s satisfaction with your record. What would you say to Mr Mourhino Arsène?

Mourhino had a very successful season himself 2003 - 2004, with FC Porto, a relatively small club, coasting the Primeira Liga and winning the European Champions League. The previous season he won a treble, adding the EUFA Cup to the domestic double.
Mr Mourhino’s first successes weren’t a product of the great financial resources he has subsequently had at his disposal?

Since then other managers of smaller clubs have also consistently prospered in Europe and domestically. Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, as discussed, earlier – facing the financial might of Barcelona and Real Madrid. And, not forgetting, Borussia Dortmund under Jurgen Klopp, facing the relative financial might of Bayern. Klopp won two Bundesliga titles including the domestic double and a Champions League Final in 3 seasons (2010 - 13). Plus, of course, Leicester last season winning the Premier League under Claudio Ranieri.
Yet Sevilla, Atletico, Dortmund and Leicester are much smaller clubs than Arsenal?

In the current Deloitte Football Money League rankings, compared to 7th ranked Arsenal with €435.5m; Dortmund are 11th (€280.6m), Atletico Madrid 15th (€187.1m) and Leicester 24th (€137.2m). Porto and Sevilla are outside the published top 30 and unlisted.
How would you compare your progress to those clubs?

Since The Invincibles, you can boast 2 FA Cup wins and a Champions League runners up spot Arsène. During that period Monchi, Simeone in under 5 seasons, Klopp in 3, and Ranieri last season, won between them: 4 domestic league titles, 4 domestic cups, 6 Europa Leagues and 3 Champions League runners up spots.
You cited the difficult circumstances following the stadium build, but those clubs have triumphed over even more difficult financial circumstances Arsène. It simply doesn’t stand up as an excuse?

Ivan felt that the greatest frustration was that they believed that the squad could contend, whereas that of 4 to 5 years ago seemed less likely too. I don’t think anyone would deny that last season’s squad was much better on paper Arsène. Yet you actually remained in credible contention in the title race much longer in 2008, 2010 and 2011. For instance, the weakest challenge, in terms of longevity, was in 2011 and you were 5 points behind winners Manchester United after playing 29 matches and had a game in hand; whereas last season you were 8 points behind Leicester at that stage (and immediately went to and remained at a double-digit deficit).
In terms of mounting a longer lasting challenge, you actually came closer to winning the Premier League in the difficult financial period, before the financial firepower was available? Surely Arsenal have gone backwards?

Similarly, since losing the Champions League Final in 2006, you reached the semi-finals in 2009 and the quarter-finals in 2008 and 2010. Since then, you exited in the opening round of the knock-out stages every time and suffered a succession of defeats home and away against much smaller clubs.
You also did a lot better in the Champions League during the difficult financial period Arsène? Again, Arsenal have gone backwards there too?

Unfortunately, some supporters have become so disenchanted with your performance that they even seek to down play your 2014 and 2015 FA Cup triumphs. Nevertheless, the trophy was won fairly and squarely in the finals and route to the finals you can only beat the team on the pitch. And, in any case, in 2015 you overcome Manchester United at Old Trafford in the quarter-final, with a highly professional performance, and the 4-0 despatching of Aston Villa in the Final was exceptional. In 2014 Arsenal showed character against Hull to come back from 0-2 and win 3-2, and also overcame Tottenham and Liverpool (despite the 1-5 defeat at Anfield the previous weekend) en-route.
That is where there undoubtedly has been progress Arsène. But the wins didn’t become a mental springboard for Premier League title-winning success as you had hoped?

You maintained your remarkable record of not losing domestic Cup matches to teams from lower leagues during the difficult period too. More recently, this seasons shocker against Sheffield Wednesday, was preceded by an even worse exit at League Two Bradford City, and - in the FA Cup - Championship Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-final at home?
In that respect too, you actually did better during the difficult financial period?

Ivan said you were a highly intelligent guy who asks himself a lot of difficult questions. You couldn’t find a rationale for Leicester’s success and put it down to them being a surprise package or only in one competition for the majority of the season.
Would it surprise you that Arsenal Audit did manage to find a rationale for Leicester’s success?

Leicester, from the captaincy and physically domineering performances of Wes Morgan, to the relentless commitment of Jamie Vardy, had great leadership. The players really did have exceptional character, great desire, hunger, grit and togetherness and really fought as a team for their cause. They had a cutting edge medical team to minimise injuries, particularly soft tissue injuries, and a manager that listened to his medical team and avoided taking unnecessary medical risks. Their new manager was happy to work with a new operational team and bought into fresh ideas. Mr Ranieri had a clear tactical plan, his players didn’t keep doing naughty stuff, they consistently executed it. After, ironically, their 2-5 home defeat to Arsenal, the tactical plan was readjusted: the full-backs and their roles changed, and they became increasingly adept defensively as the season went on.
What would you say to that rationale Arsène?

Ivan wasn’t prepared to say that the Club being the only one in the top 5 leagues in Europe who failed to sign a single outfield player was a mistake.
Yet there was a massive consensus among supporters, Arsenal supporters’ websites, former players, pundits, journalists, that there was an obvious need for another centre forward option and defensive midfield cover, at least, if not another centre back?

Arsène, let’s not forget the other rationale for Leicester’s success: A top recruitment team that brought in the necessary players pre-season and added to the squad in January.
Leicester, like so many other clubs, seems to find the transfer market so much easier to negotiate than Arsenal?

There is one sense in which Arsenal have topped the league tables. Remarkably, as the era of the escalation of financial fire power commenced, Arsenal held the largest cash reserves in the Premier League – remarkably, 40% of the entire 20 clubs total reserves! The accounts published after the 2-3 defeat at Old Trafford in February showed cash reserves of £159m – of which the renowned authority on Arsenal’s accounts, Swiss Ramble, suggested there was around £100m available to spend on transfers in the summer. It was the highest cash balance held in world football and over double those of Bayern Munich. As at 31 May 2015 Arsenal had cash reserves of £193.1m.
Since your difficult financial period, you have had the financial firepower to sensibly and sustainably spent very much more, and the Board were happy for you to do so. Why didn’t you Arsène?

You have acknowledged a difficult three match start to the season: First up is Liverpool at home, whose first team just thrashed a Barcelona team containing Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi 4-0 at Wembley with their new £34m. forward Sadio Mane scoring his first goal for the club. You said it was too early for Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny to play and now you have ended up leaving yourself without any senior centre-backs readily available.
Supporters cannot understand why you still haven’t manage to sign an experienced centre-back?

Then it's Leicester and Watford. The fourth match, before the Champions League gets underway, is Southampton at home who you lost 4-0 to away and drew 0-0 at home.
They are hardly easy opposition either?

Rather than remaining ‘on alert’, Your major rivals seem to have a clear pro-active transfer strategy season-by-season and aggressively and decisively go about signing the necessary players to sensibly improve their squads to ensure they remain competitive and try and realise their ambition.
Once again the Manchester clubs and Chelsea, and many others, have been more active than you and are likely to be a lot stronger next season?