I’m not one of the ‘sack Wenger brigade’. He IS a talented football manager and HAS kept Arsenal competing at the top for years when the club was in financial difficulty. The club owes a huge debt to him. But Arsenal aren’t in financial difficulty anymore, quite the opposite, they are one of the most financially stable sports teams in the world.
Wenger will cite players like Torres costing a fee of £50 million and use it as a vindication of his tight pursed approach. And this is the problem; Arsene Wenger seems to only see things in extremes. Fans don’t want you to spend in excess of £40 million on a player, Arsene, but they would like you to spend around £20 million on a top class centre back; a position that is in dire need of strengthening and surely worth the money.
To get down to it, the sad truth about football in the modern age is that it’s all about money. Maybe ironically though, this might be the very factor that causes Wenger to invest in his squad this summer.
Wenger has pleased the Arsenal board throughout the years because he has consistently got them into the Champions League without spending a lot of money. This makes good business sense. However, if the Gunners do finish fourth this year it will be a wakeup call to the board. Manchester United, Chelsea, and, especially, Manchester City will invest heavily in players this summer. And given their recent progression it is hard to imagine those teams not dominating the top three come the end of next season. That will leave only one Champions League spot left and if Kenny’s revolution at Anfield is backed with cash by the board, or Tottenham realise how much they miss the Champions League, invest in some new players and keep their stars, will Arsenal still be able to compete if they don’t adapt? It’s a tough question.
Arsenal’s position in the top four has been challenged for the past few seasons with teams like Man City, Tottenham, Everton, Aston Villa and Liverpool threatening to force them out. I‘d never been worried about it, I always knew Arsenal; had the quality to persevere. Next season, without significant personnel changes? I’m not so sure.
The Champions League is big money and money that the board will simply not do without. It is this simple fact that might force Wenger’s hand in the summer. Next season will be the biggest challenge to Arsenal securing Champions League football since the mid 90’s and the cost of missing out on the competition in 12/13 will surely be greater than the price of a few decent players this summer. It’s just simple business sense.
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Written by Nicholas Edwards
i just wan’t to se the players we really need come in and the players we really dont need to go
Totaly agree.
Arsenal have shown the world that you can’t win the prem or the champs on a budget. Football has moved on for good or for bad and arsenal need to move with it.
F**k sake..!! Do somethin squilachi is rubbish p*ss him off and sign sakho bring back Bartley as fifth cb.. Denilson is all but gone replace him with inler or diarra.. Arshavin, rosicky and Bendtner need to go for hazard, Douglas costa and falcao.
Much as I like the idea of bringing on youth through the academy today`s level of football makes the jump to first grade very difficult. Even the few that make it stuggle to maintain the pace and demands. So, young players start their apprenticeship with a club like Arsenal and then have to be shipped out to gain experience and mature. Having said all that the modern day game is won by buying in proven quality as Arsenal must know by now. Fabregas is a point of issue. Good as he is he would have been a much better and happier player had he been allowed to mature in the presence of top line professionals and be led for a while, not expected to lead.
No doubt in my mind Wenger misread the demands of the modern game when he plugged for youth.