Arsenal offer new three-year contract to their most valuable asset

Details: Written by Tom McPhail; Published: Monday, 08 July 2013 12:15

According to the Mirror, the Arsenal board have moved to secure the long-term future of Arsene Wenger.

Thought to be an additional three years, the offer shows a signal of intent that the most successful manager in the club’s history is the man to lead Arsenal to a new era of success at the Emirates Stadium. The initial response from Wenger, as expected to the club he loves, is positive.

The rollercoaster 2012/2013 season

Considered good news for the majority of Arsenal fans, the extension seemed unlikely for much of the 2012/2013 campaign, with the losses to Blackburn and Bradford in the FA Cup and Carling Cup respectively being the most notable negatives of a turbulent season.

Many Arsenal fans, myself included, began to turn on the legendary manager during last season as a result of his transfer shortcomings, with mediocre players like Gervinho and André Santos purchased when real quality was needed in these positions in order to effectively challenge for silverware.

The resurgence in league form that occurred following the devastating 2-1 loss at home to Tottenham in March saw Arsenal achieve a league-best 26 out of 30 points in the last 10 games of the season, and secure the last Champions League place above arch-rivals Tottenham.

This helped to alleviate a lot of the pressure on Wenger and the board, however there is a sense around the club that more needs to be done in this summer’s transfer window – reflected by comments made by Gary Neville – in order to ensure Champions League qualification next season as the minimum target, with an effective title challenge or domestic cup success as the main target.

The real financial constraints revealed

Surprising revelations in Arsenal’s financial situation were released during the Arsenal Supporters Trust’s Annual General Meeting following the end of the season showed how much of a financial stranglehold the club was under during the previous few seasons.

Where money to spend on transfers and players wages was thought to be vast, Wenger was really operating with a shoestring budget. These revelations made the achievement of consistent Champions League qualification in a league with Chelsea and Manchester City – two of the world’s most filthy rich clubs owned by oil tycoons spending incredible sums of money for success – even more unbelievable.

To compare Arsenal’s net expenditure with Premier League rivals, you can’t help but think Wenger is a genius. Since the 1996/1997 season, net transfer expenditures are as follows:

Arsenal - £4.5m

Tottenham - £175m

Liverpool - £205m

Manchester United – £250m

Manchester City - £472m

Chelsea - £505m

To show this this kind of financial frugality in order to fund the £390m Emirates Stadium while keeping the club’s head above water – water being the Champions League qualification threshold – in an era of obscene spending (Liverpool’s £35m on Andy Carroll for example), is in my opinion the greatest managerial achievement in modern football, vindicating the Arsenal board’s apparent desperation to keep Wenger as the worthy talisman of this incredible club.

A new dawn at Arsenal

This summer has seen some significant financial changes. As the Emirates Stadium has now been almost entirely paid off, a new dawn for the club has begun. The AST’s AGM in June 2013 revealed that the club can finally compete with the financial powerhouses of European football. With Wenger managing Arsenal through a restricting transitional period, we are now out the other side, and are much stronger because of it.

We have already seen Wenger’s new intent to develop the club into a significant force this summer, with enquiries and bids made for an array of world-class talent such as Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuaín (widely thought to be signing imminently from Real Madrid), Marouane Fellaini, Julio Cesar, and Luis Suárez who Arsenal reportedly made an almost club record-doubling £30m bid.

Along with the focus on current world-class talent, there has also been Wenger’s trademark targeting of the next generation of footballing talent, with interest in Lyon’s Clement Grenier, Saint Etienne’s Kurt Zouma, Bayer Leverkusen’s Lars Bender, as well as the capture of France U20 striker Yaya Sanogo, a free transfer from Auxerre (presumably for showing striking potential akin to a certain Thierry Henry at this early stage of his career).

Wenger is also known worldwide for his potential to nurture talent and coach the best out of players, and as a result, players often cite the reason for moving to the Emirates as wanting to work with the man himself.

Criticisms of the great man

There are criticisms of the way he has run Arsenal over the eight-year trophy less stretch, however. Allowing prized players to leave the club was a constant strain on Arsenal fans, with Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, and Robin van Persie the most recent big names to leave.

However the financial revelations previously mentioned suggest the board pressured the manager to sell them to generate stadium funds. This is reflected in the comments Samir Nasri made about his sale to Manchester City: “I would stay but Kroenke [Arsenal’s apparently invisible majority Shareholder] wanted the money“. This sale of top players to generate money will no longer be needed, with Robin van Persie’s sale to Premier League rivals Manchester United hopefully being the last instance.

Also, Wenger’s reluctance to delegate tasks to his coaching team has invited criticism. Wenger is known as top of the food chain in the Arsenal hierarchy, he controls all aspects of the club, some claim that the Emirates Stadium was built to his exact specification and joke it is dubbed “the house that Wenger built”. He likes to run all training sessions himself, when arguably others would do a greater job, such as Steve Bould not having enough control over the defensive training to make a significant difference.

He is the right man to lead us to more success

Ultimately though, Wenger wants to be as involved as possible because Arsenal is his club. He has done some incredible things at Arsenal, including the never-to-be-repeated Invincibles season of 2003/2004 and the consistent 16 years of Champions League qualification through the transitional period, and he deserves to remain at the helm when his long-term plans come to fruition in the next few years.

Offering Arsene Wenger a new long-term contract is the right thing to do by the Arsenal board, with the vast majority of Arsenal fans, myself included, maintaining that “In Arsene We Trust”.

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Comments

#43 Guri 2013-07-24 02:52

Quoting TC:

Quoting Guri:
Aah!! The whiners who think they could do better. And liars?? Hahah. U read some stupid tabloid rumour that arsenal is buying and u think its true. Nice!! More and more I read these kind of criticisms, the more I realise that arsene wenger IS the right man for the job. Thanks guys.

The right man for the job, lets see if you will be of the same opinion when we win fook all again next season because Wenger doesn't buy any class.

That's what I've been saying bruv. Lets wait n watch.

#42 TC 2013-07-23 23:22

Quoting Guri:

Aah!! The whiners who think they could do better. And liars?? Hahah. U read some stupid tabloid rumour that arsenal is buying and u think its true. Nice!! More and more I read these kind of criticisms, the more I realise that arsene wenger IS the right man for the job. Thanks guys.

The right man for the job, lets see if you will be of the same opinion when we win fook all again next season because Wenger doesn't buy any class.

-1 #41 Guri 2013-07-23 13:35

Aah!! The whiners who think they could do better. And liars?? Hahah. U read some stupid tabloid rumour that arsenal is buying and u think its true. Nice!! More and more I read these kind of criticisms, the more I realise that arsene wenger IS the right man for the job. Thanks guys.

-1 #40 TC 2013-07-23 09:42

Quoting quinnie:

rewarded for what!! penny pinching, making a laughing stock out of the fans, lying on who we are going to buy every season, no ambition only wants a 4th place,keeps the rubbish players too long at the club on very high wages, sells always to barca our best players. sick of it all now, been supporting Arsenal for 55years and now i would like to support a team of men {not kids} that can stand up to the mark and win us something for gods sake Get a grip Arsenal enough is enough.

Spot on, enough of the bullsh1te, put up of fook off Wenger, we have suffered long enough and listened to your bullsh1t for long enough.

-1 #39 TC 2013-07-23 09:40

Perhaps the club would have been better off spending Wengers bumper wages on some new players. Wenger is laughing all the way to the bank, he has done fook all for years and still they throw money at him to keep him. Wenger makes a fortune for the club so they will never get rid of him, he/they are taking the piss out of the fans, like a trophy getting 4th place, fook off Wenger you bullsh1tter.

+5 #38 Guri 2013-07-21 17:04

I somehow never seem to finish in one stretch. Well, here's some more information. Do any if you remember Santi Cazorla?? Those who do, well I needn't say more. Those who don't, let me remind you that he's the guy we bought for peanuts (I admit, it may be close to arsenal's highest price), and that guy has done wonders at the mid. MVP arsenal for nothing. Who bought him? Please do remind me.
Arsene has the best brain for transfers. Keeping in mind the finances. Just because they have lots of cash doesn't mean they spend like mad ***s on some player just to show the fans and the rest that they can. Those fans who wanna stick will stick. Arsene has done magic, giving us profits from god knows where, cuz he certainly isn't getting it from some fans.

+4 #37 Guri 2013-07-21 16:54

I guess we'll have to wait and watch then. In the mean time, do you have any business sense when it comes to transfers. Or would you suggest purchases like Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea for some exorbitant figure only to have him failing and at the brink of transfers at nearly half that price?? If I'm not wrong, I think it was arsenal who put the first refusal clause for Fabregas, if I'm not wrong they'll profit if he's sold elsewhere or repurchased. If I'm not wrong, dint we have Wilshere, Walcott, who if sold would sell for unearthly figures. If I'm not wrong, everyone makes some mistake in life. He sold solid players, because they wanted to leave, because some other club's policy suited them better. If they fail there, what are their fans gonna say? It's not all about just buying. If that was the case, we would have bought lots already. And unless you're financing the deals, I think everyone should shut up till the transfers are done.

-3 #36 arsenal-steve 2013-07-17 08:05

You are insane and do not realise it. "In Arsene we trust" is the mantra of the deluded. He is the 'Mr Bean' of Arsenal. Now that the insiders at Arsenal are telling it like it is, that there is a limited capability with the setup to focus and deal with the transfers, we now know Arsenal CANNOT sign quickly and sharply. Unlike David Deins day things have changed and Gazidis is not a self stater like Dein. The board too are seen as too old to initiate any creative activities and the other backroom staff and lawyers are totally under Wengers dominion. So whilst Wenger is away nothing and I mean NOTHING can happen. Unless changes are made and some of Mr Beans powers redistributed, Arsenal will never make much headway with big transfers.

-7 #35 TC 2013-07-14 08:07

WEnger is not worth that Contract, he has won sweet FA for years and we reward that by giving him a bumper contract, yea real good piece of business that.

+1 #34 Guri 2013-07-10 19:33

One quick point to add. There has to be a reason why people like Persie, nasri are sold. The board, the manager are intelligent enough to know their worth and why they have to be sold. What happens in the back room we'll never know. So lets stop jumping to our own preferred conclusions.

+5 #33 Guri 2013-07-10 19:30

Quoting noelc:

I have been a critic of AW for some years now and with good reason. It is not correct to suggest that he did not have the funds available to buy quality players He spent 15 million on Arshavin another 10 million on Gervinho plus millions on Chamack, Santos, Schalachi ( I don't know how to spell his name ) not to mention Bentner , and Edu. During this time he allowed the likes of Reyas, Flamini, Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy to leave the club. His biggest betrayal of Arsenal was allowing RVP to go to the Manx. That was the ultimate crime. I have spent the last month trying to make sense of all the blogs on the net trying to get info on possible signings and all I see is lies and nonsense . That is not a problem as websites have to make a buck or two but to be told on the ninth day of July that we are going to offer AW a new contract appears inappropriate . We should be celebrating the signing of a a mega player or two , not wasting time on signing a manager , who despite his success has not delivered in eight seasons. Fact : one player signed so far , on a free bee !

Not having money doesn't mean that clubs such as arsenal can't afford 15 mill on a player. And another thing, for all the players mentioned, there are the cazorlas and girouds in our team who have done reasonably well. Not to mention "edu" who was quite good as well. We do pick up good players like Ramsey, Walcott, arteta, mertesacker, koscielny and may I be bold to add - sagna. These may not be the players who will win us titles, but them along with 2 or 3 key signings would create a panic for other teams.
My only point in writing so much (if you see my earlier posts) is that a lot of people have been criticising wenger wholly for our downfall. People see a target and say "Aah!, he's the cause". Lets not forget he has done wonders for arsenal in the past. One may argue that the past is not the way ahead, to which my reply is pretty plain - neither are the criticisms.
Lets look ahead guys, wenger/arsenal/ the board/ the players not to mention the fans, have seen a torrid time (4th place for arsenal is), but lets support team the team we support and hope to see a brighter future.

#32 Dazmondo 2013-07-10 13:39

Quoting noelc:

I have been a critic of AW for some years now and with good reason. It is not correct to suggest that he did not have the funds available to buy quality players He spent 15 million on Arshavin another 10 million on Gervinho plus millions on Chamack, Santos, Schalachi ( I don't know how to spell his name ) not to mention Bentner , and Edu. During this time he allowed the likes of Reyas, Flamini, Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy to leave the club. His biggest betrayal of Arsenal was allowing RVP to go to the Manx. That was the ultimate crime. I have spent the last month trying to make sense of all the blogs on the net trying to get info on possible signings and all I see is lies and nonsense . That is not a problem as websites have to make a buck or two but to be told on the ninth day of July that we are going to offer AW a new contract appears inappropriate . We should be celebrating the signing of a a mega player or two , not wasting time on signing a manager , who despite his success has not delivered in eight seasons. Fact : one player signed so far , on a free bee !

Edu? A man who was consistently good throught the Invicibles season. A man who scored twice against Chelsea in a 2-1 victory, who linked up superbly with Lauren on the right flank, and also covered centre midfield when aplomb when required. Not all transfers work out, and some of the names listed are debatable - I happen to think that Bendtner is overly criticised, but that's my opinion on one player. Edu was a fantastic player for Arsenal, fact!

+1 #31 Scravaldio 2013-07-09 20:10

It does seem that some people think there is a choice and that somehow we can just bring in another manager and he will spend and evrything will be better. I would be careful not offering AW another contract simply because it makes sense to keep the manager which has built a modern sleeping giant of a club. If and its a big if Arsene can immediatly change his spending behaviour and bring in the players he has been chasing and be flexible enough (which has been a massive problem in the past) when dealing with relucant clubs then we can challenge and in my opinon actually win the epl. I am worried that such an apathy has devloped in the board that actually getting arsene to really go for it will be a long process and the reported 3 or 4 players being banded around by the media might not be bought and this will further divide the fans and the club. I would actually prefer AW to buy Bender and Higuain rather than fellani. But Fellani might be a good option anyway as carzorla will need cover and he can provide that. Everyone knows its time to spend so I think Arsene will try but if he actually signs them is the real question. Still its early in the transfer window not panicking yet.

+2 #30 Guri 2013-07-09 14:58

@quinnie one thing u got spot on. It's a team of boys. The only reason he has boys in his team is cuz they cheaper to buy an develop. I'm not a fan of his wage structure but for whatever reason it is in place I'm sure he saw it as right (may not be working though). We do need men and for that we need the money. He has some now am sure he'll do something in the market. You have supported arsenal for 55 years and that I respect, you've seen managers before him too and I'm sure they did well for arsenal. Just like he did. But then came the financial turnoil and he was the front man then. I am inclined to believe if he can see us through that, he can see us through into another round of glory years. As far as laughing his way to the bank, come on, everyone loves the bank. However, am sure he'd make more dough if he went to PSG. Lets give him a chance and I have a feeling we won't be disappointed.
Once again, 55 years?? Wow!! One day I hope to say that too. Cheers!

-1 #29 tg 2013-07-09 13:00

Quoting Nizam:

He said Messi was unplayable but yet Chelsea managed to reduce his lethality significantly.

If VP hadn't been sent off for not hearing the whistle we could have beaten barca.

-1 #28 quinnie 2013-07-09 12:45

rewarded for what!! penny pinching, making a laughing stock out of the fans, lying on who we are going to buy every season, no ambition only wants a 4th place,keeps the rubbish players too long at the club on very high wages, sells always to barca our best players. sick of it all now, been supporting Arsenal for 55years and now i would like to support a team of men {not kids} that can stand up to the mark and win us something for gods sake Get a grip Arsenal enough is enough.

-2 #27 TC 2013-07-09 10:59

Wenger is laughing all the way to the bank........his bank he has made a personal fortune out of our club for years. Its about time he started paying us back with a trophy or two.

+1 #26 Guri 2013-07-09 09:41

Wanna know what he's done? He's kept us floating at a time when we didn't have the cash to spend. So stop complaining, and if youre an arsenal supporter, be one. Or else, lets see u do a better job with near zero cash an win the title.
I agree its your opinion, but atleast make it a legit reasoning.

-13 #25 PistolPete 2013-07-09 04:10

NO way. Rewarded for what? he has done nothing for 8 years. Wenger do the right thing and leave arsenal WENGER OUT

-10 #24 noelc 2013-07-09 01:54

My criticism of Arsene Wenger is based purely on Football and my views on his management. I hope no one has thought otherwise .

+16 #23 eggmaniam 2013-07-09 01:41

The man is a legend in the epl, anytime you have a legend on your payroll, it's a good thing. Thank God Kreonke didn't sell him to Man City, too!

+12 #22 ravi 2013-07-09 01:26

I used to support man city but I admire arsene Wenger so much I am now an arsenal fan

Not about winning for me but principles

-6 #21 noelc 2013-07-09 01:25

I have been a critic of AW for some years now and with good reason. It is not correct to suggest that he did not have the funds available to buy quality players He spent 15 million on Arshavin another 10 million on Gervinho plus millions on Chamack, Santos, Schalachi ( I don't know how to spell his name ) not to mention Bentner , and Edu. During this time he allowed the likes of Reyas, Flamini, Fabregas, Nasri and Clichy to leave the club. His biggest betrayal of Arsenal was allowing RVP to go to the Manx. That was the ultimate crime. I have spent the last month trying to make sense of all the blogs on the net trying to get info on possible signings and all I see is lies and nonsense . That is not a problem as websites have to make a buck or two but to be told on the ninth day of July that we are going to offer AW a new contract appears inappropriate . We should be celebrating the signing of a a mega player or two , not wasting time on signing a manager , who despite his success has not delivered in eight seasons. Fact : one player signed so far , on a free bee !

-12 #20 Stan 2013-07-08 23:50

Wenger out, kreonke out, Ivan out, Chips out!!!!

+6 #19 TomJ 2013-07-08 23:47

"As the Emirates Stadium has now been almost entirely paid off"....? Thats complete rubbish, its a fixed mortgage that will not be paid off until the 2030's. The interest has not even been paid yet, its just allieviating. Its the new financial deals that can give us spending power now, if he chooses to spend

-6 #18 Stan 2013-07-08 23:43

Quoting RVD:

Wenger is full of it. Wenger is doing nothing to appease the fans. He keeps turning in these low ball offers on purpose. Offering $30m for Suarez when he is worth $40+ Higuian would be ours if he upped the $24m offer to $30m. Does anyone get taken seriously if they go to Mercedez-Benz and offers $60k for an $80k car?

it's in £ you chimp!

-5 #17 happy 2013-07-08 22:14

What is all about does he hve team spirit pr is after making or facilitating premiershipbusiness

+2 #16 TomMcPhail 2013-07-08 18:51

#15 Clarence Wyllie: Yeah I feel the same. This bid for Suarez that surfaced yesterday, I don't think anyone at the club expected it to be accepted by Liverpool. A PR stunt maybe? To make it look like the club is ambitious in the market and keep the fans happy. Though not many of us are not buying it

-2 #15 Clarence Wyllie 2013-07-08 18:25

How can Arsenal fans like me be assured that these bidding for players were authentication. I am so disgruntled with the way business is conducted at Arsenal.. It's a shame, that year go, year come, we are being told so many folk tales. The bidding for these players sound like a sham to me

+9 #14 Guri 2013-07-08 16:42

Wow!! The below post is hilarious. It's a transfer market. Not an MRP store. U squabble haggle and get the best deal. Mercedes Benz?? What a comparison?? Hahahah.
Is it your money they spending?? Buy me a car too if u feeling so extravagant.
Mercedes!! Hahah. Still cracks me up.

-9 #13 RVD 2013-07-08 15:47

Wenger is full of it. Wenger is doing nothing to appease the fans. He keeps turning in these low ball offers on purpose. Offering $30m for Suarez when he is worth $40+ Higuian would be ours if he upped the $24m offer to $30m. Does anyone get taken seriously if they go to Mercedez-Benz and offers $60k for an $80k car?

+5 #12 Guri 2013-07-08 15:22

@dcdc : true mate. We never did have an amazing defence. I give u that. We'll work on it I'm sure. Our wage structure might be messed but every club/manager/owner have their way of doing things. Look at Chelsea, massive transfer budget. That's because they have money. And loads of it. If they give wenger that kind of budget he still may not spend it all. That's how he is. He buys players who he feels would build the future and stabilise the present. Reason - budget, legacy, future, profit. Once these are sorted and the club is financially secure with surplus cash, he'll spend accordingly.

+12 #11 Guri 2013-07-08 15:14

@Tom: forgot to mention, brilliantly written.
I'm from India and for the first time in my life when I saw a game of epl soccer, was henry and co. I knew I couldn't support anyone else. 2 seasons later - "Invincibles". Trophy drought or not, arsene is the way forward. And I didn't realise arsene had much humour till I heard him say he signed messi. Lol
If we support the club, lets support their decisions as well. Am sure they know more about how to run the club than us. ;)

#10 dcdc 2013-07-08 15:08

At the risk of being dubbed insane by poster McPhail, I'm skeptical about the rosy coloured glasses being worn by the author of this article. For example, there is no mention of the ridiculous wage structure that Wenger proudly claims to have authored. This as much as anything has resulted in departures of top players IMO. Also, Wenger's myopia when it comes to how to defend (notwithstanding a good run of games at the end of last season) has been Arsenal's achilles heel for nigh on a decade. And every other manager knows it.
Is Wenge the man to take us forward? Maybe, but he has demonstrated shortcomings that need to be addressed rather than glossed over.

+13 #9 TomMcPhail 2013-07-08 14:43

#NorwegianGooner: Thanks a lot. Good to see someone agrees with me.

#1: Ridiculous. Arsene Wenger is Arsenal personified. If you love the club how can you not love the guy. He cares about the club's success more than anyone. Anyone who says he's lost his competitive edge is insane. Would you prefer that we spend millions on class players years ago, have two or three years at the top of the league, then go into administration because we can't afford it? I.e Portsmouth. We're one of the most financially secure clubs in the world because of Wenger.

+9 #8 TomMcPhail 2013-07-08 14:37

#6 Guri: Yeah I'm glad it was revealed that we had such little money, my friends used to think it was an excuse too. Hopefully with some solid signings in the summer we can challenge. I think the FA Cup might be our best bet this year.

I'd say if we can sign Higuain and Fellaini, Spurs won't even get close to us next season, whether they have Bale or not.

-7 #7 Nizam 2013-07-08 14:27

I am amazed the board wants to offer a 3 year contract to Wenger. He must show he is capable of bringing the gunners to challenge not for 4th,but the epl crown .
Assuming he were to get hiquain and maybe other players,he must show he can get the gunners to fight for the epl.
If the gunners are out of epl reckoning by Novemeber it will mean another season is wasted.
Defence is not his forte.He said Messi was unplayable but yet Chelsea managed to reduce his lethality significantly.Ronald o maybe a deadly player but he was nullified by Gattuso in the cl sf.This shows Wenger is poor when it comes to defence.
Btw, atrong defence helps win games .

+5 #6 Guri 2013-07-08 14:01

I've always stated that the arsenal budget was very low. But everyone found it to e an excuse. Slowly people are turning their views in his favour and I really hope we sign him and I hope we win some titles. This guy is sheer genius. Arsene and Arsenal FTW.

+17 #5 oluwakayode 2013-07-08 13:30

Very much relieved he'd sign another contract. He's such a unique guy among football managers worldwide. What an opportunity for Kroenke to have this man as his. Nevertheless, i hope this would usher the club to a now golden era; while arsenal would once again be the standard for others to follow. Congrats Arsene. In Arsene we trust.

-16 #4 mmm 2013-07-08 13:29

most Arsenal fans won't be happy with this news. We will nothing under Wenger, the most he can get us is a 4th place and to lose in carling cup to a team that got relegated.

WENGER OUT!

+15 #3 Sabrerat 2013-07-08 13:17

Good Piece. No doubt Tottenham trolls pretending to be arsenal fans will say otherwise but in my eyes, the guy is a genius. Long may he reign.

+10 #2 NorwegianGooner 2013-07-08 13:16

Spot on mate! Its Nice to read this midst all the criticism that's flying around from impatient, deluded fans.I don't think most gooners even understand or appreciate the massive achievement done by Wenger during these last 8 years. He kept the club alive in this hostile economic environment and built a fantastic foundation for the future. It should be beyond doubt, Arsene Knows!

-18 #1 griffo 2013-07-08 13:09

*** no, his ambition has gone.

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