A lot of media outlets ran with a story claiming Arsenal will only have £50m to spend this summer. This led to outrage from some Arsenal fans, demanding the board to step down. Negative stories about Arsenal are, of course, always true.
Well lets have a look at a few things:
Net Spend - In 2013 we were able to renegotiate long standing sponsorship deals that tied in with the stadium move. That loosened the purse strings somewhat (important to note we still are making mortgage repayments).
Since then our net spend has been close to £200m. This is only dwarfed by the high spending Manchester clubs. It is very comparable to Chelsea, and far outweighs what Liverpool and Spurs have as a net spend balance.
This year we do have a negative net spend (a profit if you rather). But that was due to other circumstances surrounding what a club can do...
Player Sales - One of the reasons our net spend is relatively high is the fact we stopped selling star players. From 2013 Mr Wenger was able to build a squad without losing key men, only surplus to requirement players left.
This year there was a change, however this was not down to a change in focus. Rather it was for two reasons - (1) Players running down their contracts, and (2) to free up wages.
Wages - Financial Fair Play rules dictate that a club can only increase its wage bill by £7m a year. That left Arsenal a real problem this season, with both Ozil and Alexis wanting pay rises of over £100k a week. That is, of course, over £10m extra in wages a year. There were also other pay rises, as is natural every year.
Then you have to factor in Kolasinac (£120k a week), Lacazette (£120k a week). Another £12m on the wage bill. That is before Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan joined, of course.
Now it is becoming clear why we couldn't keep both Ozil and Alexis. It is also clear why high earners such as Walcott and Giroud were moved on.
Now, once again we have been busy off the pitch in renegotiating deals and making new ones. Because, while there is a £7m wage increase cap, there is also a clause that allows a club to increase their wage bill if they increase their revenue. We took advantage of this to develop the squad from 2013, and we will no doubt do so again now.
So, looking ahead, I think it is safe to assume:
1 - The board will back the new manager with transfer funds.
2 - The new manager will move on players, creating more funds and freeing up wages.
3 - The new deals will allow even more room for wage improvement - allowing for deals for the likes of Wilshere and Ramsey if the club decide they want to keep them.
Only £50m to spend? It isn't that black and white....
Will the board back the new manager?
posted on 25/4/18
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 2 minutes ago
Enrique wants double the wages Wenger was on
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perhaps he's aware the £ will be worth 0.00001 € by this time next year?
posted on 25/4/18
comment by Scruttocks (U19684)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 2 minutes ago
Enrique wants double the wages Wenger was on
----------------------------------------------------------------------
perhaps he's aware the £ will be worth 0.00001 € by this time next year?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hows that?
posted on 25/4/18
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Scruttocks (U19684)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 2 minutes ago
Enrique wants double the wages Wenger was on
----------------------------------------------------------------------
perhaps he's aware the £ will be worth 0.00001 € by this time next year?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hows that?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The train wreck shambles that is our government's way of leaving the EU. It certainly doesn't appear like it's going to lead to much prosperity, unless you go against almost any expert on the subject
posted on 25/4/18
comment by Scruttocks (U19684)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Jenius99 (U4918)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Scruttocks (U19684)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by D'Jeezus Mackaroni (U1137)
posted 2 minutes ago
Enrique wants double the wages Wenger was on
----------------------------------------------------------------------
perhaps he's aware the £ will be worth 0.00001 € by this time next year?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hows that?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The train wreck shambles that is our government's way of leaving the EU. It certainly doesn't appear like it's going to lead to much prosperity, unless you go against almost any expert on the subject
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Its already built in m8. If anything the bank of england overestimated the affect and had to raise interest rates back to what they were before the vote because they caused inflation.
posted on 25/4/18
£20m a year lol
posted on 25/4/18
Hate the board and especially Gazidis
posted on 25/4/18
I'm not sold on Enrique, not hard to be successful with Messi and co in your team.
posted on 25/4/18
Shouldn't be hard to be successful with Auba, Ozil and co in your team, tbf.
posted on 25/4/18
Sell Xhaka and Iwobi for 40mill, invest that 40 mill into a proper DM.
posted on 25/4/18
Sack the board now, known incompetents