While it might be hyperbole to suggest that the current English Premier League campaign represents Arsenal’s best chance to win the title for the foreseeable future, losing out to arch-rivals Tottenham would be too much for many supporters to bear.
If such a scenario plays out it would be reasonable to expect a huge backlash against Arsene Wenger and the club’s board. It appears that at Arsenal an existence beyond Wenger represents a terrifying proposition, not for the fans any more but for the suits at boardroom level.
Perplexingly, winning league titles is presently not a requirement for the third most successful club in English football history. Champions League revenue is placed above trophies and it’s this philosophy which has the North Londoners trapped in a groundhog day scenario.
Most importantly for the board however, the stadium is always full to capacity, earning the club £3 million per game.
Incidentally, £3 million is the exact amount that Arsenal controversially pay to majority share holder Stan Kroenke’s company Kroenke Sports Enterprises on an annual basis for “strategic and advisory fees”. A payment which causes much ire within the Gunners’ fan-base.
While there’s much to be said for stability within a football club, a similar case can be made for change reinvigorating a stagnant club. The saying around the club has changed from ‘In Arsene We Trust’ to become ‘In Arsene We Rust’. Sad words but an inevitable consequence of steadfastly refusing to move with the times.
Arsenal’s financial results show a cash reserve of £159 million in the bank while investment in the squad over the past two transfer windows totals £17 million. This discrepancy is frankly unexplainable and there is the sense of a huge opportunity currently slipping through the club’s fingers. With the huge windfall in television money due at the end of this season, other Premier League clubs are now catching up.
Manchester United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League two years ago after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement reinforced Kroenke’s opinion that Wenger is still the man for the job. Having had the same manager for nearly 20 years it’s understandable that Arsenal fear a life without Wenger, but they shouldn’t. It’s verging on institutionalism.
Arsenal’s players have become the personification of Wenger’s philosophy. Theo Walcott is a prime example of a player in the comfort zone at the Emirates.
In his tenth year at Arsenal and earning £140,000 a week, Walcott appears to have regressed over the course of this season. His performance in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester United was nothing short of diabolical, touching the ball just 16 times in 60 minutes and conceding possession on ten occasions.
Arsenal have a squad containing two arguably world-class players (Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez) surrounded by mediocrity. Wenger’s plan to create a British core at the club has failed, through injury in some cases such as Jack Wilshere and lack of progression in others like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The squad, once again, is in need of a massive overhaul and Wenger will most likely be trusted as the man to oversee the process.
It’s thought that the Gunners will have roughly £90 million to invest in the squad this summer, although whether that figure takes player amortisation into account isn’t clear. Arsenal have recruited one of Leicester City’s top scouts, although he is not thought to be the man who unearthed the now much sought-after stars in Riyad Mahrez and N’Golo Kante.
Wenger’s stubbornness is legendary. He sees ‘quantity but no quality’ in the transfer market at the moment. Everyone is a genius in hindsight but Arsenal have never replaced Thierry Henry or Robin van Persie. The club has been crying out for a top-class striker for over three years and how Wenger must regret not beating Napoli to the signature of Gonzalo Higuain in the summer of 2013.
The Argentinian looked all set for a move to the Gunners before the Italian side swooped in with a €40 million bid. Higuain is currently one the most in-form strikers in Europe having bagged 25 goals in 28 Serie A appearances, while just to rub salt in the wounds Arsenal’s frontman Olivier Giroud has failed to score in his last nine games.
So assuming Wenger is still in charge, who should he target this summer to fill the void in his side’s strike-force? Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was linked in January but would cost in the region of €60 million. The pacy Gabonese looks to be a perfect fit for the Premier League but whether Wenger will stump up remains to be seen.
Watford striker Odion Ighalo is a homegrown talent and potential ‘fox in the box’. Although the last time Wenger signed a predatory striker of his ilk – Francis Jeffers back in 2000 – it was one of the most disastrous signings the Frenchman ever made. The option I believe to be the most likely target is 24-year-old Lyon forward Alexandre Lacazette.
Last season’s Lique 1 player of the year with 27 goals in 33, Lacazette is a Wenger signing waiting to happen. Lyon will sell for the right price without doubt, although with their star striker having penned a new four-year contract last summer that price will be far from cheap.
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