Has He or Hasn't He Got the Money - Arsenal Supporters Trust Meeting

A lot of anticipation was surrounding the Arsenal Supporters Trust meeting, especially from the media. Undoubtedly, many were expecting a tirade of “Wenger Out” cries and therefore it may be worth noting that perhaps not many of the back-pages will carry the story in a double page spread that Charlie Wyett from The Sun loves to compile.

There is a view that the Arsenal Supporters Trust are just a bunch of scarf waving Gooners that like to feel important but are insignificant in the running of Arsenal Football Club. A reminder therefore that the Supporters Trust board are due to meet Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis and the Commercial Management team this week to discuss the views of the members from the meeting. In the past the pressure from the Arsenal Supporters Trust has also pushed the manager to take domestic cup competitions more seriously, resulting in our Cup final visit to Wembley last year.

So first up on the agenda was the issue of empty seats and ticket prices. There was a huge outcry from me and fellow Gooners on the sudden hike (approximately 6.5% increase) on the price of season tickets.
Essentially there were 2 choices for the board regarding the matter:

a) Increase ticket prices in small increments every year incurring the wrath of disgruntled fans year in year out who will remind them of the lack of trophies every summer.

b) Increase the price in one big hit after a few years. The advantage of this for the board is that they will take on all the abuse in one instalment and can amuse themselves over our anger at being mislead into thinking ticket prices were actually frozen for 5 years.

Unsurprisingly the board opted for the latter of the two options and the Supporters Trust unanimously agree they don’t want to see any more increases in the future.



The topic however, brought about some interesting points:

• 400 Club Level Season ticket holders attended one or less games last season. To put some perspective on that, I am a Club Level Season ticket holder. My seat is in the North Bank behind the goal and currently, I pay £3000 while Club Level seats at the half-way line are around £5000. The phrase “More money than sense” comes to mind.

• Opinion on the ticket exchange feature whereby season ticket holders cannot attend games and post their tickets on the website is that improvement is needed as it’s not always useful. For example, if a fan realise he/she cannot attend the game the night before the match, there is no way of posting the ticket so late on the site.

• Debate started on what happens if the club enters the Europa League. This is where a major shock comes in. While many supporters wanted the cup credits on season tickets to be separated, a fan plainly refused to attend any Europa League matches. His excuse was “I am used to dining at the top table, not at Joe’s tavern”. A truly amazing statement summing up the state of the modern football fan. Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion and therefore my opinion has always been that you support the team start to finish. Most fans usually wish the players on the pitch reflected the same passion as the fans. I personally would not want a player not bother simply because it’s the Europa League.

• A suggestion was made to drop ticket prices for all cup games. While most agreed, an AST member pointed out that it sends the wrong message and de-values the competition in the players’ eyes.

• Ticket prices would remain the same had Arsenal dropped down to the Europa League following defeat in Udinese (had it not been for an excellent penalty save by Szczesny).

• If the number of empty seats continue, Arsenal are likely to lose a lot of Television rights. TV companies like Sky Sports do not like to show matches with empty seats as it fails to attract the viewer’s interest at first sight. This is understandable as the noise generated by full crowds at stadiums gain bring attention to the match.

• Arsenal’s current season ticket waiting list is around 30,000 and is one of the most expensive in Europe (surprise surprise). The drop in the list over the last couple of years must have been a lot by my understanding. I am currently in the waiting list for a Gold Season ticket and in one season my position has gone from 44,000 to 26,000.

• A fan suggested there should be some loyalty scheme available to Arsenal fans that have held season tickets for years and the Arsenal Supporters Trust board will look into discussing this with the club. An example is Barcelona FC giving loyal season ticket holders around 5% discount off merchandise in the club shop. Of course, to Mr. Hill-Wood this would be the equivalent of giving away his kidney!

HAS HE OR HASN’T HE? IS MONEY AVAILABLE TO ARSENE WENGER TO SPEND ON TRANSFERS?




Now, I’m no financial expert and even a “Dummies Guide” book on finances would put me to sleep. An Engineer by profession, I have little know how on finances and therefore I will just state the obvious figures that even Harry Redknapp can understand without a twitch!
The Arsenal Supporters Trust know there is money available at the club. What we don’t know is whether the money is available for Arsene Wenger to spend on transfers. Anyone that says Wenger isn’t spending due to his stubbornness is as wrong as the one that says the board is hiding the cash. Ultimately, only the higher powers at Arsenal know the real story!
Once again, some very worrying points were brought up!

• The current Arsenal wage bill is £130m – which is the 4th highest in the league. In layman’s terms, 4th highest wages is what gets you 4th place and with the current wage bill, Arsenal have been finishing in 4th.
  
  Of course, it doesn’t exactly work that way! The problem, as famously known for a while now is that too many average players are sitting on high salaries that are limiting the top players earning higher wages. This in turn allows clubs that have more cash to take our players by offering them better contracts. Whatever way you look at it, a truly shambolic structure. In a nutshell, no one is willing to buy the likes of Squillacci, Denilson and Almunia with the wages they are earning (unless any of them decide to take a pay-cut) and this in turn is affecting the club’s wage structure. Players like van Persie can only earn a capped amount which makes us vulnerable to rival clubs.

• Of the £130m that is used for wages, Arsene Wenger is in charge of approximately £90m. Make of that what you will but it’s incredible that the manager of the football team is being given cash to distribute among the players. You have to ask if this is really the way a club should be run! Imagine ‘Arry being asked to do the payroll at Spurs! He would be chasing down Rosie for help faster than John Terry forgets about his wife!

• Stadium debt is in the region of £220m - £230m depending on how well you heard the speaker at the meeting.

• Approximately £30m cash reserve is kept in the bank for what’s essentially “darker days”. This is to cover the club for around 2 years should Arsenal fail to reach the Champions League. The money for this has been arranged through the property sale.

• £40m was available at the club on 1st June 2011. Regardless of whether this was for transfers or not, a further £55m was added with the sale of Fabregas and Nasri. Deducting taxes (as Rosie47 does) and loyalty payments (!) Arsenal Supporters Trust believe there is approximately £60m available although the club argued an additional £10m was paid out in agent fees on transfers and renewals of players like vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen.

• At present, the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) is Arsenal’s glimmer of hope. Off the field, the club can more than balance the books. However, if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League, then the Gunners may themselves become a victim of breaking FFP rules! Champions League football can be worth anything up to £45m a season for the club which is crucial for the long term sustainability.

• The commercial side of Arsenal is beyond a laughing matter. Manchester United make approximately £100m in revenue while Arsenal are and will be around the £30m until atleast 2014 when the deal with Emirates expires. This is hampering Arsenal’s chances of competing with the big boys financially. There has been talk a while back that the club are looking into the possibility of ending the deal with Emirates early and incurring any penalties in order to secure better future deals.

• Nike currently play Arsenal around £14m on shirts while Liverpool, who have not been in the Champions League for a couple of years now have landed £40m kit deal.

• Every club in Europe live in fear of Arsenal making a phone call for their player. This is due to the paltry figure Arsenal offer in as transfer fee and though clubs have the power to reject the offer, they cannot stop the player’s head being turned.

• In 2009, Alisher Usmanov and his team made their calculations and suggested a figure of around £100m to be injected to strengthen the team. Further, Red & White Holdings (Usmanov’s company) offered to put the larger part of the amount. The Arsenal board refused Usmanov’s offer as some of the wealthy shareholders were not ready to part with their own cash and give their share of the money.

• Usmanov’s lawyers will be working away as he passes the 30% mark to be classed as an “owner” of the club by the Premier League. The Arsenal board can technically accept any cash injection provided by Usmanov but that would require a VERY big change in philosophy. However at this stage, the board and Kroenke would rather die than accept any charity from Red and White holdings that will essentially be a gesture of acceptance that they were wrong all along!

• Kroenke is behaving in a way that makes it seem as though Arsenal and London is just a Tourist attraction for him. A novelty factor of owning something British. Some Americans take pride in knowing a posh British man from across the Atlantic and for Kroenke, Arsenal is like his very own show off piece. Ultimately, the club means very little to him.

• Arsenal’s opportunity in Nigeria (where the team will head to over the summer) is massive as the country can boast more Arsenal fans than in the UK.

Another very interesting point was brought up last night. We all may remember the Arsenal board once famously claimed that if they offered Arsene Wenger £100m, he would just give it back to them. While it may seem like an amusing story there’s more to the story than meets the eye.

The board had apparently offered Wenger £100m through the possibility of certain rights deal. Wenger refused the money and the rights deal was called off.

Now this clearly is the cue for a section of fans to take out their axes and pitch forks. However, we cannot see at this as the end of the story. Looking at a wider picture, we have to take into account that Arsenal must make approximately £20m profit every season. If we say for arguments sake that the £100m was given to spend over a period of 3 seasons and yet continuing to return profit of £20m a season, this means giving a return of around £160m by the end of 3 seasons (£100m initial injection + [£20m profit per year x 3 seasons = £60m] = £160m). That is an astronomical amount and while I accept that things don’t necessarily work that way, the money ultimately is not coming from any sugar daddy and some return on the £100m will be required or the club will start to go plunge downhill. The largest part of the income would have to come through Television and Season ticket renewals as competition prize like £2m for winning FA Cup is very little.

Of course it may be that the board don’t ask to see a high return on profits but then would this satisfy Financial Fair Play rules?

Arsene Wenger

For several seasons the debate regarding the suitability of Arsene Wenger to do the job at Arsenal has been under the microscope by the fans and media alike. The split among the fans opinion of the Frenchman has been divided and in broad context the majority of fans fall into 3 different camps:
1. The first group of fans believe Wenger has had all the money to do how he pleases and his stubbornness and blind faith towards his players has cost Arsenal silverware over the years.

2. The second group of fans believe the board and Wenger have been lying and there is no money to spend on transfers with stadium debts being top of the agenda.

3. The third group of fans fall into the camp that believe money is available but very little or almost no money has been made available for Wenger to spend in the transfer market.


Regardless of where your views lie on the matter there is one factor that unites the three camps: The impact of former Vice president David Dein’s departure from Arsenal.

A lot of the club’s infrastructure and scouting system has gone downhill since Dein left the club in the most unceremonious ways imaginable. The Supporters Trust has questioned in particular why it is that Arsenal have produced only two talents from the academy (Gibbs and Wilshere) in the last 10 years.

It is widely know that Dein and Wenger had a very close working relationship throughout their years at Arsenal. After all, it was Dein who appointed Wenger as the Arsenal manager back in 1996.



The day-to-day running of Arsenal was rather straight forward. Dein would bring forward the availability of players across the world whether its convincing a Sol Campbell to move to the red half of North London or signing a World Cup winner Gilberto Silva from Atletico Mineiro. Wenger would pick the ones he wanted and then Dein would see to it that the player is taking pictures with the Frenchman and a red shirt as soon as possible.

There was always a healthy rivalry between Managing Director Keith Edelman and David Dein. Edelman was the business minded figure at Arsenal and would often argue with Dein on money spent on players. Dein in the mean time would fight tooth and nail for Wenger’s corner and often won, landing a host of talent from across the world that eventually created title winning sides.

Then, after that miserable in April when it was announced that Dein left the club due to “irreconcilable differences”, large changes within the club’s hierarchy had to be made.

The departure of Dein was triggered due to his support for Usmanov and Red & White Holdings to take over Arsenal in order to allow the club to compete financially. The remaining members of the board did not support the idea and it therefore ended in the two sides parting their ways. Such was the fury towards David Dein from the board that they eventually sided with Stan Kroenke’s take over as Usmanov was from David Dein’s camp. The effects of this even affected one of the major shareholders that was Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith who was ousted from board after being seen having a coffee with a member from Red and White Holdings.

This is the key point which determined Arsenal’s future for the next few years. Wenger was handed what was essentially “full control”. To go into detail as to what kind of control he has would be speculating but it is clear that a large part of this control involved taking over the duties Dein carried out on a day-to-day basis. It was said that since Dein’s departure, Wenger became somewhat of a “nervous shopper”.

Furthermore, Wenger was audaciously involved on the panel of judges that chose what is essentially meant to be “the next David Dein”. Although I agree that Arsene should NOT have been allowed to choose his boss, I can only assume that the club was trying to re-create the same relation Dein had with Wenger. That is a very big task as Wenger and Dein were close friends and still are. Despite his departure, Dein and Wenger spend more time with each other Gazidis does day-to-day with the Arsenal manager. Wenger once described David Dein’s commitment to Arsenal as, “Red and White are the colours of his heart”. And that is quite clear when you see Dein walk through the turnstiles every match day like every other Arsenal fan.

As mentioned earlier, it is believed that of the current £130m of wages being paid out at the club, almost £90m is in Wenger’s control. This essentially makes one wonder what exactly Ivan Gazidis does on a day to day basis. The commercials have failed rather spectacularly and completing transfers has been a task more difficult than finding out Robbie Keane’s real boyhood club.
Conclusion

In conclusion, Wenger has had quite a task on his hands doing some of the former vice-presidents job and managing the team. Though he is far from being innocent at not doing the tasks properly and making some basic elementary tactical mistakes, the bigger issues at the club have to be addressed at this moment in time.

Lets put this a situation to you: You’re excelling at your current job till one day your boss tells you expand your workspace to accommodate for another person leaving. Considering you love the job and the company you’re working for, would you say no? Probably not.

Now consider this. Your new role (unsurprisingly) has had an impact on the job you previously carried out and you’re not doing as well as you used to. To add to the stress, the company you work for has had limitations put in place on resources. Despite all these measures, you can still perform among the best in your profession but your customers are ultimately unhappy. Your customers want you to provide the same level service as before despite your employer’s limitation and your expanded role which no other person of your profession has to carry out. What would you do? You’re paid well, love the job and love the company. Do you walk out?

Alternatively, would your employer have any ground to sack you considering the limitations and the strategy they took up since expanding your work scope? Probably not, unless they are willing to justify themselves at an employment tribunal.

My point being is that regardless of your opinion on the Wenger, the departure of Dein and abnormal position within the club that’s been handed to him has affected our performances. The board would not sack Wenger because ultimately, he’s bringing the money in and to many extents hiding the true story of what is going on behind the doors.

We have seen two types of Arsene Wenger over the last 15 years
Wenger Type 1: Excellent at Football management, worked in ideal situation with support and competent personnel around him.
Wenger Type 2: Above average at football management, worked with incompetent people while managing the team trying to keep them competitive enough to see out the financial darkness.

Question has to be asked, is it his fault that he has been given full control? Is it his fault that he seems to be working on players payslips when in fact he should only be concerned with how the players play? Is it his fault that he has no previous experience of doing duties as a board member and yet is doing the job?

Now you have to look at the possibility of the situation improving by sacking Wenger. Lets consider for a moment we all want him sacked, the board listens and Arsene is shown the door with an Au revoir. Now we assume Guus Hiddink didn’t sign for Anzhi Makhachkala and instead signed for Arsenal FC. What will this exactly improve? Will Hiddink be a better manager with an extended role of doing duties of the former Vice chairman? Or will the board sack Ivan Gazidis and decide a change is needed and bring in more competent personnel that can justify a £500k bonus and not go on holiday during a crucial point of the transfer window? Or will the board shift more of the responsibilities on to Gazidis and tell him to pull his weight a bit? I think either of those scenarios are unlikely.

Whatever his faults have been, Wenger has done the job thrown at him to the best of his ability. Whether that’s been good enough or not, the point is, circumstances have not been ideal. Does Ferguson/Redknapp/Dalglish/AVB have to go through the players wage packs and distribute the cash? Of course not, it’s not a manager’s job to do that and God help us all if Harry Redknapp is doing accounting work for a club. Wenger ultimately has to be managed by someone but it’s hardly his fault that the board hasn’t put someone in place already to do that. The average age of the people in the board is at the 70 mark and they have run themselves to the ground over building a new stadium but did not do enough to support the manager and build a team. Until stability at board level is not improved, changes in manager will do little to solve the problems. The board lock down agreement ends in April, it will be interesting to see if Kroenke has the right ideas to move forward!

A Night when they Stood to be Counted

There comes a point in a game when players and fans alike know if this will be their day or not. The majority of the Arsenal fans and staff went into the BvB Stadium knowing that on paper, this will be the most testing of the away fixtures in the group stages.

It is difficult to not envy the atmosphere the 80,000 Dortmund fans created on Tuesday night. This is a crowd that can equal intimidating match atmospheres witnessed in Turkey and even released a video to welcome the Arsenal to Westfalenstadion. Any team travelling into Dotmund’s arena could almost liken the surrounding to walking into a dragon’s lair.

When Neven Subotic found the ball at his feet 6 yards from goal and shaped up to shoot, it was as if time almost stood still for a moment as everyone watched in anticipation. It was like witnessing a ‘Matrix’ movie when the evil Agent Smith fires his weapons while you witness the ripple effect of every bullet in slow motion fly towards Mr. Anderson who in turn dodges the attacks and appears unscathed, much to the shock and dismay of the villain.

The hero in Dortmund was the young Polish Keeper Wojiech Szczesny who rather than dodge the shot threw himself on the way and emerged from the crowd of players with the ball safely in his grasp. It was a moment that hinted Arsenal will not leave north-west Germany empty handed, least not without a fight!

Jurgen Klopp, the man in charge of ‘The Borussians’ has been tipped to become one of the best managers of his generation. Wenger’s pre-match praise for Klopp had hints of jealousy towards a man who at the age of 44 has put together a fantastic team that ran away with the Bundesliga title last season. This is a team that was playing with utmost confidence and flair.

If there is a manager in Europe that does not envy some of the players at Klopp’s disposal, they would be lying. The centre back pairing of Subotic and Hummels is solid and Mario Gotze showed why Arsenal were ready to spend €40m for his services at the age of 19. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Gotze’s parents had decided he was too young to leave Dortmund.

Both sides missed key players in the tie. Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios and Arsenal’s midfielder Jack Wilshere and defender Vermaelenwere both nursing injuries. And despite the missing players, the quality of the game did not fall. Chances were created by both sides but it was a case of being clinical and when Kehl was dispossessed in his own half by van Persie, the Dutchman finished off the move with a sublime shot past the Dortmund keeper Weidenfeller to give Arsenal the lead.

It took a wonder goal on the 88th minute for Dortmund to salvage a point at home but at the final whistle, the air punch celebration from Wenger in the stands told its own story. Arsenal know at home they can play a more attacking game in the return fixture at home and it was crucial to avoid going home empty handed against such a tough opposition.

The Gunners performed well despite the sickening ban posed on the manager. Wenger, who had to stay behind after final whistle in case he ran to the touchline to give game-changing tactics to his team, was marshalled away by 2 UEFA prison guards. You can almost the match the scene to a serial killer on death row being taken to meet his family for the last time as Wenger was finally allowed to meet his players. No action has yet been taken against Bulgaria for the racist chants towards England’s players but UEFA seem to have got their priorities right by imposing Wenger’s touchline ban.

Manager for the day Pat Rice said there was a “buzz” in the dressing room after the uncertainty in recent times. There is now a sense of unity within the squad. Van Persie is proving to be a real leader on and off the pitch, while Koscielny and Song looked very assured alongside Sagna who has become an ever present in the current squad.

Despite losing the creativity of Fabregas and Nasri, the performance in Dortmund was a message that this team Arsenal was ready to fight tooth and nail to be counted. They are keen to silence the doubters, but more importantly they are working together as a unit for a common purpose rather than the individual glory some players were seeking last season.

Undoubtedly, the Gunners still need a very creative player in January, perhaps in the stature of Hazard or Gotze. For the moment however, Arsenal look to have hit the ground running.

New Twist Reveals Real story on Nasri's Contract Agony

Reports surfacing today suggest that over the course of the past year, there has been a lot of drama surrounding Samir Nasri’s future at Arsenal.

Last summer, Arsene Wenger suggested he was unconcerned regarding Samir Nasri’s contract situation at Arsenal. At that point, both Nasri and Wenger had reached a verbal agreement that Nasri will sign a contract extension by October 2010.

The Arsenal board however, failed to follow up on the verbal agreement between Wenger and Nasri and as the season progressed, no written contract was presented to Nasri nor his agent to tie the midfielder to the club.

The actions of Peter Hill-Wood and the board is likely to have angered Samir Nasri, who is again linked with a move to the Eastlands after Wenger suggested yesterday that he is unsure of the Frenchman’s future.

“It is not completely sorted that Samir will stay, but I want him to stay. He knows that. Hopefully we can sort that out in the coming weeks.” said the Arsenal manager.

Whether the Arsenal board had made the mistake of trusting a player with words or not, it is undoubtedly gross incompetence by the staff at Arsenal and not for the first time as comparisons are drawn with the Flamini situation that saw him seal a move to Italian giants AC Milan.

And there is sure to have been some manner of heated exchange at some point between the board members and Wenger over the future of his midfielder. Wenger rates Nasri among the top midfielders in the world and looks upon him as a key to Arsenal’s success as Barcelona continue to pursue interest in Fabregas.

It may seem elementary business conduct to produce written contract once there has been a verbal agreement, but chairman Peter Hill-Wood and Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis are likely to brush off the blame onto Nasri’s loyalty issues.

The coming weeks will be crucial in shaping Arsenal’s coming season. Arsene Wenger remains confident that he can hold on to the talented midfielder although Samir Nasri may have already made up his mind.

Gael Forces Wenger Dilemma

By Walid Hai

Reports surfacing yesterday are suggesting that Gael Clichy may be ready to enter contract negotiations with Arsenal.

At the end of the season in May, sources close to the club had confirmed that Wenger was ready to let the full back leave, with Roma looking the likeliest destination for the French international. However, Sky Sports have now claimed the Arsenal manager is keen to hold on to the 25 year old defender, the last remaining member of the Invincibles team.

Wenger reportedly said, “We have started talks with Gael and want him to stay".

Given that the story is true, it is a rather interesting turnaround in Wenger’s decision as Clichy’s inconsistency has come under scrutiny several times since he conceded the last minute penalty at the game against Birmingham City at St. Andrews in 2008.

The Frenchman has often been able to recover catastrophic errors due to his pace and high fitness levels. His lung bursting dribbles into opposition territories and interceptions during key moments has provided some difficult attacks for opposition teams to deal with.

The problem however has always been his ability to win 1-on-1 duels. The likes of Lennon and Young have tried and failed to outpace Clichy in a bid to get behind the Arsenal defence. However, there are the likes of Nani who also previously attempted to beat the full back with and later adopted a more effective solution to use an over-lapping full back and double up on that flank leaving the left back to make some poor decisions.

Wenger may have identified Clichy’s weakness, but with few options available, perhaps keeping hold of the full back may be the best solution. Gibbs is still a long way from gaining consistency and proving his fitness, while Armand Traore is likely to look for a permanent move away from North London in search of regular football.

In terms of the transfer market, there is few options available. Everton’s Leighton Baines has been mentioned several times. While Baines has had a good season, it is unlikely Wenger will want to pay the premium for the English international with the centre backs being top priority this summer.

And Clichy has several times expressed his desire to remain with the club. He has often mentioned feeling “home-sick” every time he has had to stay away from London for more than 2 weeks.
The news will no doubt leave Liverpool fans slightly upset as the Merseyside club desperately seeking a left back. Aurelio’s injury concerns coupled together with Paul Konchesky’s torrid performances meant Liverpool may have been in with a chance of securing Clichy’s signature with the Frenchman’s current contract expiring next summer.

With few doors open to Wenger in terms of a replacement, the Arsenal manager may just opt to stick with his current left back for the coming season.

The Arsenal Post-Mortem Begins - Where it Went Wrong

The end of the season had brought about mixed feelings among Arsenal fans. While there is relief at a painful season coming to an end, a long summer of no football and transfer rumours is now underway.

Craven Cottage was ringing with chants from the Arsenal fans urging Wenger to spend money while at the same time there was a continuous 10 minutes of, “We love you Arsenal”, that left the Fulham fans bemused.

When Arsene Wenger emerged from the Fulham tunnel and jogged across to the dugout, chants of, “One Arsene Wenger”, was voiced by the Gooners. Althought faith in Wenger’s ability remains within the core support at Arsenal, there is a demand for a change in the club’s philosophy!




So what really has gone wrong in North London? The move to the Emirates Stadium has proved a financial master class considering the state of many clubs around the country. Yet, the trophies have come almost as rare as yellow cards for Barcelona players for simulation.

Despite 6 trophyless seasons, the real problems started in 2007 when David Dein departed the club. The Champions League Final and Carling Cup Final in 2006 and 2007 respectively were settled largely due to tactical flaws and at the time, Wenger was still accountable to Dein regarding the teams progress. However, since his departure, the Arsenal fans have only been “treated” to one final appearance.

Dein’s departure, on the back of some serious disagreements with the rest of the board members, was a pivotal moment in Arsenal’s history and the start of a series of board room mis-management by Chairman Peter Hill-Wood.

It is no secret that David Dein ran the show in North London for a while and had major influence on Wenger’s transfer targets. At one point, it even seemed no transfer was beyond Arsenal’s reach as Sol Campbell was convinced to move across North London to sign for Arsenal while rejecting big money offers from Manchester United and Bayern Munich. Such was Dein’s visionary characteristics, he consistently identified opportunities for Arsenal to move forward and compete along with Europe’s Elite Clubs.

Dein’s replacement was former MLS Deputy Commissioner Ivan Gazidis. At a crucial time when everyone at the club from boardroom members to stewards were working hard to complete a smooth transition to the new stadium, the higher powers at Arsenal decided to appoint a man with no relevant experience in the Premier League and has worked on the side of the Atlantic where rugby is played with padded protection and is called football.

Since his arrival, Gazidis seems to have largely concentrated his efforts on the ‘Arsenalisation’ of the stadium that has no doubt kept a small section at the Emirates happy while this season’s tour of China has been added to a long list of mistakes made by the club.

More worrying for Arsenal fans is that key transfer targets Wenger has identified returned no results. Xabi Alonso was not signed due to the Arsenal board refusing to meet the initial £14m demanded by Liverpool before Real Madrid swooped in the following season for the Spanish International’s signature.

Further errors have included the failure recruit Pepe Reina, Gary Cahill, Mark Schwarzer and Gokhan Inler, all of whom did not sign due to breakdown in transfer fee negotiations.

The fans are reassured every summer that cash is available to Wenger. Yet, despite cash in the region of £30m-£40m, the club refused to pay £3m asking price for Schwarzer.

Hill-Wood was rather outspoken on the issue with Mark Schwarzer and I wonder whether or not Wenger has been in complete control of how cash is spent. For a manager that spent £10.5 million for Thierry Henry, and £2m for Jens Lehmann, would an extra £1m to address a goalkeeping issue he has identified be regarded as paying over the odds? Or are we to believe that Wenger has become a very bad manager in a short space of time?

If Wenger is masking the problems at boardroom level as his own shortcomings, he will have to face the criticism levelled by those branded by Hill-Wood as “Silly”. Wenger must address the tactical mistakes he has made this season, especially the constant need to play Nasri out wide – a decision that backfired in the final following Rosicky’s below-par performance.

A very long summer awaits and over the next few weeks, I will look at every position in depth and the players that will help this Arsenal side move forward.