David Dein has backed Arsene Wenger’s policy of making, rather than buying, superstars stressing the Frenchman is an artist who won’t ever resort to spending big-money just for the sake of it. Calling on critical fans to trust the manager’s judgement, Arsenal’s former vice-chairman also took the opportunity to underline his close friend’s achievements since arriving in 1996 while stressing that he’s working harder than ever to achieve further success.
Speaking to the Footballers’ Football Show last night, Dein shied away from tackling questions on specific financial matters choosing instead to diplomatically defend the man he brought to North London while highlighting how much the football landscape has changed since he was ousted from the Gunners board in 2007.
“When I was there it was Arsenal and Manchester United vying all the time. Now all of a sudden you’ve got Manchester City, Chelsea and Spurs chomping at the bit and Everton come up fast. At some stage Liverpool will have a resurgence. It’s very competitive.”
Asked whether finishing in the top four was enough for a club of Arsenal’s stature, Dein refused to answer directly, preferring to draw attention to the difficulty of maintaining the standards set in 2004.
“It’s difficult for me to say, it’s a delicate position. When you’re used to winning trophies and when you’ve fans who remember a team going 49 games unbeaten…now that’s a hard act to follow. Where are all those world class players?
“I was in Brazil the other day and had a very nice dinner with Gilberto Silva, who is a very, very genuine guy and I said to him, ‘what did you think of the Invincibles?’ He said, ‘when we went out onto the pitch we didn’t think we were going to get beaten and what’s more the opposition didn’t think they were going to win.’
“It’s a different story today, you’ve got strong teams out there. Arsene is doing his level best. I know him very well as you can imagine and he’s working the hardest he’s ever worked to try and bring success to the club.”
Responding to the criticism which has been levelled at Wenger, despite his efforts to halt an enduring trophy drought, Dein stressed that Wenger was relentless in his effort to improve the club.
“He can only do his best and he is doing his best. Whether he has brought in the right players is another story, but I know he’s trying really hard. He’s more focused than he’s ever been to bring success to Arsenal Football Club.
“He has transformed the club. When you look at the state-of-the-art training facilities, the wonderful stadium and the squad. It’s a good squad, but whether it’s good enough to win trophies is another story. That’s debatable and that’s what has the fans talking all the time, in the classroom, in the playground, in the offices, in the pubs. We’ve all got opinions.”
Probed by former Liverpool managing director, Christian Purslow, as to why Wenger won’t spend cash when he has the funds available to do so, Dein underlined that his friend’s philosophy and mentoring qualities would always dictate his attitude in the transfer market.
“Firstly, buying big name players only guarantees you one thing; a big salary to go with it. Secondly, Arsene Wenger as an individual, one of his greatest skills is that of a teacher.
“He will get an average player to a good player, a good player to a very good player and a very good player to a world-class player. He’ll get Nicolas Anelka, pluck a Cesc Fabregas, a Patrick Vieira, a Thierry Henry virtually from obscurity and make them into world-class players. That is an art form.
“Buying the finished product for 30, 40 or 50 million pounds? Anybody can do that. But they’ve got to work, they’ve got bond and blend into the squad to do well.
“[Selling them at their peak] That’s a different story, I accept that, but it depends who is coming through the ranks.
“It is a shame, the fans don’t like it when a world-class player leaves. Against that you’ve got to back Arsene’s judgment that he knows who is coming through.
“Who would have thought they’d have a young Jack Wilshere coming through? Liam Brady is doing a great job with the youth development scheme to make sure there is talent coming through. You’ve got to develop your own because in the end that is the future as well. Making sure your Academy is working well so you’ve got your own talent.”
In Arsene I trust
“It is a shame, the fans don’t like it when a world-class player leaves.” Well, yes. It is. Have you met your son, Darren?
There is one point Dein didn’t really discourse well enough and that is the ability and willingness to keep this talent when we need them most. And I think there is improvement in that area now. Fence off sugar daddy. Arsenal will be ok
Slippery slope. As much as people bitch now that we pay the likes of Denilson and Bendtner £60k a week (allegedly), what happens if we start buying galacticos for £40m, pay them £150k a week? That’s all well and good until we start having to pay everyone that kind of money and then we get bitching that Denilson 2 is being paid £170k a week for sitting on the bench.
What then?
thereisbearcum is absolutely right. to add to this, the salaries that bendtner and denilson (et al) received were, effectively, a form of venture capital. wenger wanted to tie them to long contracts, punting that a few of these young players would become world class. fabregas, for a long time, was on a similarly sized contract of around £60k a week (allegedly) – that, naturally, seems outrageously low given what the likes of lampard were earning at the time. had cesc ended up being completely gash too, however, we’d be lumping him in the same category as delison and bendtner… wenger… Read more »
The difference is we thought they will be world class and sell them for more money, not keep them and make them into a winning team. Fabregas had along contract where is he now?
No good making superstars if we are going to sell them as soon as they start performing. And those same “superstars” like to see the club investing in the side rather than replacing big names that leave. To be honest for all Dein has done a great job for us in the past he is starting to do my nut in a bit.
Dein agrees with the concept of making stars because it benefits his son financial, how many of those “stars” has his son represented??
Wilshere and fab would have been a fantastic duo. So while he is right That Jack is taking some og the sting away it’s still a bloody shame the two of Them arent playing together for years to come. (aint got no problem with arteta or santi but fab was something quite special)
The one thing that saddened me about signing Arteta is that it made me wonder what could’ve been if we signed him a few years prior. Him and Cesc playing together would have been a joy to watch, and with Jack added to the mix?
It is a tantalizing image, but honestly, in his position, I wonder if Arteta really would have been the same purchase a few years ago. His passing percentage is really admirable, but to me, it’s only a reflection of his vast experience as a player, rather than some miracle talent; which is not to underrate him in any way – so many talented players never go nearly as far as he’s gone with his polished skills…
Loved Fabregas but think Cazorla will be even better. Just wait til next season when he’s fully-acclimated to the Premier League.
In my opinion, even though Fabregas and Cazorla play in a similar position, Cazorla’s style is closer to Pires – both run as if the ball is stuck to their feet, with passing and long range shooting as the back up weapons in their arsenal.
Fabregas was more inclined to create space by doing a pirouette with the ball as opposed to dribbling past a player or two, and use the pass as his primary weapon to remove opposition defenders.
I’m happy with Pires 2.0
Sorry mate i think Santi is a fine player and will be a fantastic player for us. Cesc was a joy to watch.
The summer that Cesc got sold, we got linked with a guy called Cazorla. Never had I heard of him until then. I wasn`t even interested in any attempted replacement. For me, Cesc was the best.
Saw Cazorla (against Kitchee?) – everything that Cesc can do, and then some.
Don`t know if he`d stay on and play with a broken foot to give us numerical equity and then hammer a penalty home, but that`s not the point. 🙂
The sad thing is that when a player-agent hybrid demonbeast forces the manager’s hand, there appears to be little he can do to hold onto his best players, players that – with respect to Wenger’s tenure – have mostly been nurtured and developed at Arsenal.
For me, as much as I hate United even more than I could have for taking van Persie, Song’s departure saddens me that much more.
It’s been said time and time again, but there’s way too much player power prism’d through fuckhole agents in today’s game.
Agree about Song it was sad and he must be really regetting leaving now. But at least he went to another league. Old whiskey nose a few years back ranted that he would never sell a quality player to a direct rival. He never has. Cantona from Leeds at the time rivals success for manure. Cole from up and coming Newcastle success for manure and now Van Persie Arsenal major rivals looking like yet more success for manure. Will be really fucked off when he/them win the title this season.
It’s interesting that Dein was nowhere to be found when things weren’t quite so rosy.
Oh, yes he was. Cosying up to Usmanov, acting as his PR puppet.
Your time is over, Dein. Time to move on.
I make you wrong there. Dein saw it coming. You can’t hide from the obscene money thrown around by Chelsea, Man City etc. There is only so much nurturing you can do against buying the finsihed article 2 or 3 times a season. You have to balance a homegrown policy with astute ‘occasional’ galactico purchases. RVP/Cesc want to look around and see world class players stood next to them. NOT Gervinho and Squillaci. FACT.
You forget our permanent ‘glactico’… our £400m stadium. We had to produce these players and look for bargains rather than buy them for silly money, to pay it off.
Now we are virtually debt free and, from now on, can pay top money for top players if Arsene wishes to do so.
That is a fact,
And what if we still don’t buy these ” top players” even though the stadium is all but paid off ? What then ?
Voldermort
High me again have we not started buying players that may not galactico’s but very good international players at the right age mid to late twenties. With a number of players already at the club that may get very close to be world class.
I don’t think the philosophy should change all that much – the lack of debt should be used to preserve talent such as Wilshere, Gibbs, Chambo, etc.; the best example of this already happening is how Walcott seized the chance to get the ball rolling on the policy – at least his skills are paying dividends far earlier than some other players. Except for in right back position, I don’t really feel like we need another experienced player… what we need is to work to make sure investments pay off, and that the well-seasoned veterans we have coalesce strongly and… Read more »
Completely agree with you joe. Wasn’t having a pop was just asking the question. Jack is world ,class, Santi is top quality as is theo on his day and giroud may get there, sagna is one of the best full backs in the league. And or two others are or could be top quality. But we are lacking somewhere or we would not be so far behind in the league. If we want to compete in the race for the title then we need to strengthen. Some suggest that we now could be in a position to buy the players… Read more »
We are nowhere near debt free. If you look at the accounts there is still over £100m left to pay (might even be 200 from memory). and with regard to Wenger. I don’t think he feels like he needs to make excuses. This is his project, he is the man in charge, the architect. He will make it work if it kills him. Moaning about lack of funds is just stupid. He knows how much money is in the bank and how much we still have to pay off and, quite rightly, doesn’t want to rely on sugar daddy investments.… Read more »
That something that is missing might be team cohesion having to purchase new players at the start of each season hopeful we will not have to his season.
The may also be something else to think about how much closer we would be if it was not some refereeing decisions in recent games I wont go in to them all Arsenal fans have seen them for themselves.
By the way I see we have mike fucking dean for tomorrows match.
I never said we was debt free was quoting jjb who said we were virtually debt free. And I wasn’t moaning about lack of funds, if you read the post correctly. It was a rhetorical question in reply to another post.
As I said I don’t blame arsene and didn’t mention I wanted a auger daddy either.
Joe don’t mention the refs name it brings me out in warts.
Maybe it’s time make some money out of the cunt bet on a draw and hope for a win.
He’s mike dein he will might to get the game void in some way. The only way is to hammer six past them in the first 5 minutes so even he can’t influence the result.
I suppose the biggest change is that Arsene doesn’t seem to unearth the Cescs, Vieira’s or Anelkas anymore. Maybe that’s down to other teams improving their scouting, maybe he’s lost his eye for young talent? Personally I think AW is working too hard, he should get good men in to take on more responsibility and have the faith in them to do the jobs.
You forget Van Persie – when he’s up there in Ballon D’Or conversation next year – remember where he came from, who bought him and who he played for in his formative years.
The fact that Arsene has kept us so competitive since he got here, with the City’s, Madrid’s & Chelsea’s around – it’s ‘coz he is buying young quality & not breaking the bank. I think that point is lost on people ‘coz we haven’t won the Carling Cup in 8 years.
Ridiculous.
Completely agree here.
Who gives a shit about the CoC. Hell, don’t even really care about the FA cup. Id rather be competing in the CL knockout stages anyday and we have been doing that every year for the last 13 years. And we are the only team to have done so. So yeah, Arsenal are great and Arsene is a fucking genius.
Perhaps those that pay money to watch these games like many will on Saturday care about he fa cup or coc. Just a thought.
And ill be there. But if it was a choice between that and knockout CL id take CL anyday
Sorry pete but Ide take winning the fa cup over just qualifying for the cl. If the question was would I choose winning either then yeah the cl every time
Pete, whilst I think being in the CL is more important to the club than winning a cup, I find it depressing when Arsene trots out stats about never finishing outside the top four or being the only club to qualify for the group stages every year for 13 years. Yes it shows a level of constistency but no improvement. I’d rather miss out on the CL one year but really challenge for it the next like Bayern, Madrid or even Dortmund have done than reach the quarters but never look like really winning it. The need to stay on… Read more »
Corp, I remember going to the 1980 final in Brussels with 5 mates at the age of 16. We lost to west ham on the Saturday and didn’t give a toss as we where off to Belgium on the Monday. Over 25 thousand gooners, we were bumping into pals all over the four days we were there, was like walking down Bethanl green road. We lost obviously but it’s times like those that make being an arsenal fan more than just the about going over the grove or highbury. It’s not all about winning trophies but Ide love some of… Read more »
Too true, it seems being a fan today isn’t as simple as it was. Worrying about finances, boardroom power struggles and prioritising competitions. We used to just want to do as we’ll as we could in what every competition we were in didn’t we. You’re showing your age now Volders, travelling abroad in 1980, i was only 8, funnily I started supporting The Arsenal in between the West Hzm and Valencia games. I don’t recall the cup final, don’t think I watched it, but the Cup Winners Cup Final was the first time I ever saw Arsenal on TV. My… Read more »
Sorry- CAN squeeze every penny not Can’t .
Corp, I really do see where your coming from. But how will not qualifying for the CL one year make us more competitive the next? Whilst its also tempting to put us in the same bracket as Bayern et al. We really are in a different league financially. I want us to win something as much as the next person, I just also make a huge effort to not take for granted our good league and CL performances every year. I fear us pushing out Wenger and slipping to the level that would put us on par with the amount… Read more »
No Matter Where Arsenal finish, it will still be the team in my heart and soul.
Sure i’d like them to win every trophy and get annoyed just like everyone else when they loose.
I do love them!!
The other thing Dein didn’t discuss is the fact that he sold his shares for a massive profit to the highest bidder and still expects us to believe that he really cares! He’s just in it for himself and always has been.
Bit harsh, if someone offered you £75m for shares in a company where you had been quite brutally dismissed and now had no power are you saying you wouldn’t sell them, particulary as it was to someone who you felt had the power/money to affect change at the club, and you get to play a role in company too. It’s a little too simplistic to just say he sold his shares so he doesn’t care about the club. Dein could have had a field day over the past 5 years critising the current board but he’s always kept a dignified… Read more »
i’d sell say £20m worth so i could live like croesus, therefore retaining the bulk of my shareholding so that i could still own part of the club i love and agitate the board members who upset me whilst still doing everything in my power to help the arsenal remain competitive and win stuff other than the emirates trophy
but then that’s just me, perhaps
I’d probably do the same but I guess it’s hard to find someone to part with £20m for what would be in effect a worthless shareholding in terms of power. I assume Usmanov said all or nothing.
usmanov has parted with considerably more than £20m in return for what is effectively a powerless shareholding
but agreed, in principle you’d imagine it would be hard enough to find anyone stupid enough to part with such a wedge in return for so little
Sam, am I right in thinking that Usmanovs near 30% is still quite important as it mean Kronke can’t get enough shares to load personal debt onto the club like the Glazers did? I seem to think he’d need 75% for that but could be wrong.
Personally if we are going to pursue the self sustaining model I’d rather have kept the plurality of ownership rather than one voiceless individual.
Fans: “The scouting system is a source of unspeakable power and it has to be researched.”
The Club: “And it will be. I assure you fans – we have top men working on it right now.”
Fans: “Who?”
The Club: “Top… Men…”
My, an Indiana Jones reference!
Bizarre, this article has really swayed me into believing in Wenger’s philosophy more so than I have in recent times. I’m happy with that.
I love gilberto silva.
The sorry state of the expressions of frustration by the supporters and fans alike is obvious in my opinion are…..
1. The lack of trophies
2. Winning especially at home games
3. Critical players that need to be purchased to shore up areas that AW and the board are aware of …. put Arsenal back in contention on the platform of the greats!
You shan’t forget that also:
1) the sun comes up.
2) the sun goes down.
3) Captain Obvious strikes when you always expect it.
SACK GLAZIDIS AND KROENKE- End the misery
Who the fuck is going to sack Kroenke you twat, another brilliantly well thought out comment!!!!! (and who the fuck is Glazidis) I’m afraid your user name sums you up.
pffff you want to sack the majority owner of Arsenal .good luck with that.
.
How much do you know about Arsenal you can’t sack the owner
Ignoring the fact you can’t sack Kroenke, how would this help again?
They’ll definitely be replaced by magically astute and smart personnel, would they?
On what other football forum would you get Croesus used in a sentence. Quality Sam. Our fans are almost as intelligent as our manger.
For me i dont have a problem with getting unknown players but the problem lies when they get developed here become world class and get sold at their peaks. 4 years before i understand about debt and all but now the times have changed so what i want to see is nit letting our best players leave.
Why try so hard to build something and try and fuckup all those things later.
Dein would never allow players contracts to run down as we’ve been seeing recently. Arsene would love him back at the club.
Edu and wiltord?
Nothing to see here. Move along.
All of this crap just amounts to: we’re in charge. Trust us. Pay no attention to our actual results.
Actual results is we don’t owe money to anyone in the accounts (the sugar daddy clubs all technically owe a boatload of cash to their daddies) and we’re maintaining a relatively competitive team.
And he’s not askin for blind trust, he gives his arguments.
When people form entrenched opinions, their biases take over their interpretations.
Sad to see that Dein just won’t accept the reality that Wenger is past it. Wenger’s great strenght in the past was finding and developing hidden young talent – when was the last time that he did that? And all that wages crap just doesn’t wash anymore. At Man United SAF pays players exactly what they’re worth – no more, no less. Wenger’s wage socialism has led to the ridiculous contracts of the likes of Almunia, Bendtner, Djourou and Squilaci. And our glorious leader has totally lost it when it comes to tactics too. He’s finished. I wouldn’t mind giving… Read more »
Wow.
But I’m happy to know that the extent of your contribution to the club will be, at best, limited to buying tickets & merchandise and coming on here and thinking you’re a qualified football analyst / pundit.
Fatgooner speaks the truth. Shame everyone else can’t/won’t see it.
“Fatgooner speaks the truth” What a fucking ridiculous thing to say, so you think Arsenal Football Club should sack Arsene Wenger and bring in Laudrup, ffs, how do you think that would benefit the club?
Your’e not buttoned up right, let alone thinking straight, Wenger is in charge of the whole operation, knows the club from top to bottom, knows every single player like the back of his hand, and you think Laudrup could walk in, tinker with the team a bit and bring us success,,,really????
@Dial Square: so we should stick with this shit because it might get worse under sombody else?
What a pathetic losing mentality.
We are worth more than this. A better manager could take us further.
Oh so now after a few decent results Laudrup is a better manager than Wenger is he?? What a short memory you’ve got.
And where’s your inciteful and well thought out reasoning to back this up?
@fatgooner
You speak the truth when you say, “A better manager could take us further”.
But that’s obvious isn’t it? Of course a better manager will take us further. That’s why they’re “better”!
But what is “better”? Is there anyone “better” for Wenger? How do you define what is “better” for Arsenal?
My problem is that you’re pulling every argument out of your arse and preaching it as truth.
Unlike our glorious leader, Laudrup is going to win something this season
Swansea are one of the best teams in the league in terms of efficient buys. However in the last 5 years they have spent £37m more than Arsenal…
I wouldn’t mind giving you a slap.
Laudrup now is the favour of the month. Did you even follow him earlier?
He was utter shit with Getafe, Spartak and Mallorca. Now a decent spell and immediately he is your hero and better manager than AW?
Just be silent, please.
Thumbs down for first line. The rest made sense though Brendan Rodgers success at Swansea out of his depth at Liverpool. I think Laudrup a few years off a top job.
Who had heard of Wenger before he came to Arsenal? What we need now is a younger version of our clapped-out current manager. We won’t get a really big-name boss because he wouldn’t put up with the Board’s penny pinching. Laudrap has done a great job on limited resources at Swansea. He is worth a try.
Younger version of Wenger?
Why, then we need someone who has played professional football, but not a too high a level and someone with an Economics degree.
Laudrup sure doesn’t fit this profile.
Oh, you’re looking for another profile, you say?
Who? And what makes you so sure your evaluations are better?
Tool
£30m for Berbatov, £28m for Veron (in 2001 when this was even more massive).
When your biases take over your head, you can no longer take facts that contradict you into account.
You were also the guy who came up with a conspiracy theory of why Wenger has not renewed his contract with one and a half years left, when the last time he renewed, he only had a year left!
So fact-check, please.
Your arguments are useless if they contradict facts.
Also, the last time we developed talent? Well, Cesc, Nasri, van Persie, Song, Gibbs, Wilshere, Szczesny, Koscielny, Walcott – these players were not established talents before they got here. Tactically “lost it”? You’re the tactical master now, are you? That Wenger now has to operate within vastly changed circumstances compared to 2004 should be taken into account. But all you’ve done is looked at the results and concluded that he must be shit, without properly taking into account all factors. Take a few negatives and run with it as if it paints the full picture. Thank fuck you don’t run… Read more »
You’ve just proven my point. Cesc, Van Persie, Nasri = years ago. Gibbs and Wilshere = made by Brady. Walcott = shit, on insane wages.
Wenger’s recent ‘discoveries’ have been Santos, Park, Arshavin and Bendtner.
I rest my case.
Koscielny is an excellent case in point.
Wow.
I’m happy to know that the extent of your contribution to the club will be, at best, limited to buying tickets & merchandise and coming on here and thinking you’re a qualified football analyst / pundit.
apologies for the double post, meant to reply to the fellow above.
This is just a guy covering for his mate. Yes bringing through young players is important, nobody would argue with that but two 20 or 30 million pound players in the team would give the club more leyway to achieve this. Rather than having to play most of our first team in cup ties to make sure of the wins we could play younger, up and coming players to gain first team experience.
and where is this £60m coming from? We will probably have to make a profit this year as well in order to stay on the right track financially.
This team has plenty of players. It just needs to stick together for a few years, which is what I hope will happen as the core of the squad seems very loyal and most people are on long contracts (except Sagna).
[…] former vice-chairman David Dein has again come to the rescue of his trusted man Arsene Wenger, and his transfer policy; while the manager spoke about how he had the chance of signing both Walcott and Gareth Bale, but […]
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“Against that you’ve got to back Arsene’s judgment that he knows who is coming through”. Who is coming through to follow RVP?