Here’s a statement which many Arsenal fans will probably agree with – Arsene Wenger isn’t being given enough support by the board when it comes to buying and retaining players, says Alisher Usmanov. Although Le Boss thinks otherwise.
Usmanov, whose Red and White Holdings own 29.9% of Arsenal, believes the under-fire Frenchman needs more help when negotiating deals.
The Uzbek billionaire recently told CNBC:
‘Always I tell [people] Mr Wenger is one of the best coaches and football managers in the world.
‘But I openly will say he has had many, many difficulties. Of course today, less, but before, during the last five years, he hasn’t had enough support from the board with transfers, keeping players, etc. That’s my view.’
Usmanov then went on to say that it was a mistake to let Robin van Persie leave for Manchester United in the summer.
He added:
‘This decision (selling Van Persie) was a mistake. If I am one of Wenger’s players I would want to stay for the finish, but he explained Robin wanted to go to win trophies.’
So, is Usmanov right? Could the Arsenal board be doing a little more in helping Wenger acquire and keep hold of players?
I honestly believe both parties are at fault.
Yes the board could do a little more in retaining our stars by tweaking the wage structure slightly. But in terms of handing Wenger over some cash to splash during the transfer windows, they, in my opinion, can’t do anymore than they have done. The cash is there to spend. However, Wenger doesn’t choose to use it, which is the frustrating part of all this.
I firmly believe there are a lot of things happening behind the scenes that we don’t see.
I mean, where the hell is Stan Kroenke? I haven’t seen him since he took over the club last year.
How are we, after selling our best players over the past five years or so and always making a profit at the end of each season, not able to compete with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in the transfer windows?
How are we in a position not to offer our best players the money they want? It’s just ridiculous.
The relationship between Wenger and the Arsenal board is a strange one and hopefully it changes for the better, or we could be seeing a few more years of this nonsense ensue.
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You believe Wenger is as much to blame as the board?
You honestly believes he has money, but he doesn’t want to spend? Why, is it his own personal account?!
The board haven’t given him the money and cannot attract players to the club, and not keep them when they do. Why does all this happen after we leave Highbury, and after Dein leaves?
I was always against clubs being bought buy billionaires. However, seeing how this board has messed up Arsenal SO much, and seeing how we are increasingly struggling to compete with other clubs financially, I think the time has come for Usmanov to come in, ideally with Dein, and of course with Wenger still as manager.
How the hell no one vetted Kroenke before he came aboard is beyond me. He is an another WalMart spinoff, making his money through that family. He acquires teams just to have them and they , The Denver Nugggets, the St. Louis Rams, Colorado Rapids..all go from contenders to pretenders as he maximizes profits. He is an ego owner, who owns just for the sake of acquiring toys. The Arsenal board made a big mistake allowing this man so much pwoer. The need the Russian now as a counter balance
“The cash is there to spend. However, Wenger doesn’t choose to use it, which is the frustrating part of all this”
Use the money to buy which players and pay them how much when you have a silly siling?