English Debate: Arsenal - A Selling Club? <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Are Arsenal being left behind? The commotion surrounding what seems to be the increasingly likely departure of Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal has led to Arsene Wenger openly accepting that Arsenal are now a ‘selling’ club. "The strategy of the club is to sell every year and to buy less expensive players," he told the News of the World. One could argue that this is nothing new. The success of Arsenal’s youth policy in the Wenger era has facilitated the sale of ‘big names,’ often without much damage to the team. Furthermore, these sales have generated huge income for the club (just think of the return when a £500 000 Anelka was flogged to Real Madrid for £23 million) which has been re-invested in future stars. This has long been how Wenger has chose to operate; now it may appear that he has no such choice. Wenger versus Dein This time last year Wenger appeared unruffled by fears expressed by then Vice-Chairman David Dein that the club’s financial constraints, largely imposed by the recent construction of their stadium, would have serious consequences. Wenger did not foresee any negative consequences manifesting themselves immediately. He has expressed in the past that he has been quite happy with his resources. He said last year, “I feel, in the short term, I do not need more money. You have to see how the game's evolution is in the next four or five years. But if I wanted to buy a player...I have money available." Wenger expressed how he was satisfied with his squad prior to last season. He announced, “I believe I can compete because I have a team which I believe can win the Premier League and do well in the Champions League.” For a large part of last season, Wenger seemed to be justified in holding this view. However, the eventual capitulation of Arsenal’s title challenge may indicate that David Dein was right to be concerned. Dein felt so strongly that he left the Arsenal board in April 2007 after his attempt to involve the US tycoon Stan Kroenke as a financial backer was rejected. Dein believed that "without new investors Arsenal might very soon not be able to compete successfully at the very top level." Is Arsenal’s attitude in the transfer market this summer an indicator that Dein was right? Perhaps so. Sell, sell, sell With Mathieu Flamini gone, and now Aleskandr Hleb and Adebayor heading towards the exit, things could look that way. It is certainly worrying that a class-act such as Van Persie stalled on contract talks, demanding that the club proved to him that they can hang on to key players. "Keeping this team together," is, he claims, what holds the key to gaining his signature. When influential players are leaving, the signing of the highly promising Aaron Ramsey from Cardiff City is unlikely to convince star players such as Van Persie that things are changing for the better. The purchase of Samir Nasri may however be more helpful. The problem remains, as was discovered last season, that a team in such a continuous stage of transition and development will be hard pushed to maintain a genuine, season-long assault on the title. Wage Policy Not only is it Arsenal’s eagerness to cash in on their best players that is a cause for concern. It is their inability to lure other big names to the stadium. It was surprising last season, when the promising Ryan Babel, who had been hotly tipped as the next Arsenal signing, opted for Livepool. When I consider Arsenal strict wage structure, it really should not have been such a surprise. Arsenal have the strictest wage policy of all the top clubs by a long way. Wenger’s adherence to it is worthy of praise but it is also the source of anxiety for many fans. Yes, Arsenal may have a good youth policy and Wenger maybe as shrewd as ever but if they are to seriously challenge their big spending rivals they need to be able to splash the cash as well. The majority of players who can really make a difference come at a price. Fernando Torres for example cost up to £27 million and is earning around £120 000 a week but would anyone at Liverpool argue that the 23 year old is not worth it. I do not think so. Cristiano Ronaldo may have left last season, had Manchester United not increased his salary. Would United have had their double success had they replaced him in the side with a promising youngster such as Nani? In theory, if Ronaldo had been at Arsenal, they would have let him walk. Although their refusal to be held to ransom is admirable, it seems somewhat foolish in the modern, money mad game. Especially when you consider how much more money United would generate if they sold Ronaldo now as compared to if they had failed to improve his contract and let him go last season. Arsenal’s strict adherence to an out of touch wage structure, their inability to resist big offers for players, and their reluctance to spend big, will inevitably limit the extent to which they can compete. Why Arsenal can’t compete: big stadium, big debt The primary reason Arsenal are struggling to compete is the costs imposed by the construction of their £400 million Emirates stadium. Restructuring of the finances in 2006 decreased the club’s annual debt service to around £20 million. This means Arsenal have to include this in to their costs and this is why Wenger accepts Arsenal are now a ‘selling’ club. They need to sell at least one big name a season to generate this income. How else could Arsenal deal with this debt? That answer probably lies abroad. Foreign Investment David Dein predicted that Arsenal needed heavy investment, hence his attempt to involve Stan Kroenke. If we look at the transfer market this Summer it looks as if Dein was right. Manchester United and Chelsea have funds available. Liverpool are looking to purchase Gareth Barry, yet still rumoured to be interested in David Villa. Outside the top four, Manchester City have forked out nearly 20 million on their new forward Jo. It is much a case of spot the difference; these clubs have received heavy foreign investment, Arsenal have not. Has Premiership football turned into a game where only those backed by wealthy overseas investors can succeed? If Wenger’s Arsenal fail to triumph this season it may indicate that this is the case. It may also then be time for the North London club to pursue investment. The Future Arsenal fans should not worry prematurely. As I see it, either Wenger succeeds in bringing home silverware this season and it is a triumph for football or he fails and Arsenal recognise they need to pursue an investor with considerable financial clout. I would like the former outcome more than anyone but I am no fantasist, I think both the Premier League and the Champions League will be beyond them. However, If Arsenal were to seek investment they would be highly attractive. Last financial year they generated a turnover of over £200 million, which was second only to Real Madrid. Although this does not mean they are particularly cash rich due to their significant debts, it does mean that they are potentially lucrative and as thus an investor would not be hard to find. If Arsenal do go down what seems an increasingly inevitable path for big Premiership clubs, Arsenal could then afford to compete and David Dein could afford a wry smile.</div>
Great article CK. I think it's something we will need if we want to be considered a great club in the eyes of many glory supporters, chelsea has no history or style of play in comparison to Arsenal, Manu, Liverpool, and yet many huge stars want to play for them but its mainly due to the $$$$$ that makes them an attractive club, I don't recall any great players wanting to play for chelsea before Roman bought the club. Personally I would be satisfied if we could just hold on to our star players, wenger is a genious at developing players and time after time it shows that money is not always necessary to play beatiful football. I would not mind if we got some support from a foreign investor, it would somehow help us compete and attract better players to our club.
I agree Art, they just have to keep their current stars and have Wenger develop more for the future. Persie, Walcott, Fabregas and Nasri are the Arsenal future and any team would be proud to have them as their stars.
Arsenal aren't a selling club per se. They just bring up such great talents that many other clubs want. Also a little bias here but i think Wenger has an amazing skill of knowing when to sell players. Look at the players he's sold recentley Henry - Barcelona - getting slower and beggining to struggle A. Cole - Chelsea - Really hasn't done a lot and has failed to shine unlike Gallas. True Gallas is a character but he's a bloody solid CB for Arsenal and i really think we benefitted more from that deal.
