Arsenal’s second largest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov, claims that the club’s move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, cost Arsene Wenger 10 years of his managerial career.
Speaking to CNN, the Uzbeki billionaire claimed that financial restrictions imposed on the Frenchman during this period prevented him from building competitive teams, but also that he sees Wenger as the right man now that that period has passed.
“Arsene has a very, very difficult position when club shareholders don’t want to put his money to construct new stadium,” he said.
“And because of this, he lost his five years, maybe best of his career without trophy. In reality, 10 years.”
Which is true, but it’s worth pointing out that Wenger was fully on board with how the club financed the stadium through its own means, knowing how it would affect him – but of course it all happened just as the oil money shifted the football landscape.
Usmanov is in no doubt, however, that the 65 year is the still the man for the job.
“If I have the right, I will keep Arsene until he wants because until he can’t perform his activity like a manager” he said.
“It is a gift for any club to have a coach like him.”
What the duck has it got to do with him ? If he’s so important why didn’t he find some players?
Cunt !
Bit harsh, it’s not like he’s said anything unreasonable – on this occasion.
Just rubbed me wrong that’s all, if he has the power to get rid of Wenger then surely he had the power to invest in all those players we didn’t get.. You know the ones that helped Chelsea, manure and city win titles.. Don’t get me wrong I’m proud of what we’ve done I just don’t get this guy saying these things, bare in mind 200m in players is the equivalent of buying a kitchen appliance for you and me
in fairness to Usmanov – his whole plan was the Roman Abramovich model. he wanted to “lend” us vast amounts of money to buy players – but he needed to seize absolute control of the club from Kroenke so that he could get his “Loans” repaid. I’m glad we had Kroenke and 9 years, because the taste of two Organic FA Cups is so much more rewarding than the Soylent Green, Genetically modified, Fish DNA injected Premier Leagues that Chelsea, City and United won in that time. I look forward to a free range premier and champions league title challenge… Read more »
Epic comment Double98!
For all of Arsenal’s negatives, no other club would have survived amongst the Soylent Green competition at the top level of this league. Usmanov may have wanted to do things differently (spend, spend, spend) but I think the current board took the sounder approach.
Could not have put it better myself if I tried
How? I’m sick of hearing praise for the board, what did they actually do, other than just sticking by Arsene. They made a killing by selling shares to Kroenke and Usmanov while letting the club regress from dominance to eking out a place in the top four. The burden of the new stadium has fallen on fans with ever increasing ticket prices. Usmanov would have been better for Arsenal than Kroenke. What makes you think he would follow the Roman model? In fact, in an interview he suggested that instead of infusing money in the transfer market, shareholders would buy… Read more »
Two things. No other club in the world has spent £500m on a new stadium, no matter where the money comes from. Secondly, basic economics, if the demand goes up, the price goes up. So with a 60,000 seater stadium, mostly full, and more than 30,000 on the waiting list for season tickets, you can name your price. Dont pay it if you don’t want to!!
Exactly! I don’t understand why some fans would bash Chelsea and City for buying titles and at the same time be upset that Usmanov didn’t invest his millions the same way Abramovic and Mansour did. Double standards much?
They are made of HUMANSSS!
If your comment was a South Park episode, it would be the one where they all get hybrid Toyota Prius and start sniffing their farts.
bear*
Bear in mind 200m in players is the equivalent of buying a kitchen appliance for you and me AND giving it away to the people three doors down the road who won’t even invite you or me to dinner. You have to get the full context correct in these similes. He doesn’t say he has the power to get rid of Wenger anyway. He was talking about what he would do IF he was running Arsenal, which he clearly isn’t. Anyway, if he was slyly trying to suggest that Kroenke didn’t do anything to save Wenger’s 5 or 10 “lost”… Read more »
I don’t feel as strongly as Bang It, but it does reek a bit of playing to the gallery by Usmanov. If we were in a poor run of form, do you imagine he’d have been making pro-Wenger comments?
I seem to recall him questioning Wenger’s position not so long ago — one or two years ago perhaps?
Most fans did, to be honest. At least I did, at some point and I’m ashamed I felt that way. Just goes to show the benefit of hindsight. I think it’s unfair to pick on Usmanov regarding that particular issue.
Jeff, is it really unfair? I may be wrong — and please correct me if I am — but at that time, we had the board and Wenger claiming that the money was there to buy players. I understood the outrage directed at Wenger as developing out of the sense that he was stubborn and unwilling to evolve — when all along, as it’s now clear, he was protecting the club and by being vague, keeping opponents guessing. As a major shareholder, Usmanov surely knew the situation, and if he called for Wenger’s head, I assume it’s because he was… Read more »
It IS suspicious timing though… we just “failed” to spend 50 or 60 million pounds on any new players (or so many fans believe) so he pipes up supporting Wenger while suggesting Arsenal’s problem has always been stingy shareholders, and subtly suggesting he wouldn’t be like that at all if he was in charge.
Im sure what he said was 5yrs not 10. Please correct me if im wrong… im still recovering and my ears are still ringing from wembley.
You and bang it like Bergy should swap user names.
What are you saying? You confused the shit out of me!
I must admit, I did always find it a little strange when Usmanov wrote open letters about the club or made any kind of statement about finances or about Wenger or lack of ambition. Here’s a guy who’s richer than Abramovich and could easily have bought the club outright instead of Kroenke and have blown Chelsea out of the water with his spending power but didn’t. Fair enough, he’s put money in the club and everything but it does seem a little hypocritical to discuss the club and it’s finance in a negative light when he has the power to… Read more »
Quite true, but remember he hasn’t put a penny into the club – the money he paid for his shares goes to the previous holders, not the club.
He could have bought all the flats off us at silly prices when we were struggling to sell them, could have actually sponsored us when IG asked one of his companies for support, but he just mocked him for begging instead.
Errr and so could any of the other shareholders… They are all bankers!
The fact is that this man has been pissing and moaning for years but has done absolutely nothing to change the situation. Talk is very cheap. And he’s full of talk.
How many of them are the subject of this article?
By putting money in, I meant investing and holding shares. Poor choice of words. FunGunner and ClockEndRider, I totally agree with you, that’s my point to begin with. The fact that he’s sat on billions that could have been used to give Wenger these “best 10 years” and has not used it (and has just sat back and talked shit) really irks me. GoonerN16, I agree and disagree with you on some of these. Firstly, my point wasn’t about the Arsenal ethos – it was more levelled at Usmanov for sitting on vast cash that could have helped us compete,… Read more »
Mozart, you are missing the point, imo. The Arsenal ethos does not support the Abramovitch model, certainly not with The Prof as manager, it would have been an anathema to Mr Wenger. This way, the Arsenal way, is far more satisfactory since the club is self sustaining, we have a fabulous new stadium (rather than renting one as per Abramovitch) and the team built on a far more organic method, an amazing achievement by AW. I think that Usmanov was simply complimenting Mr AW on what he has achieved in the last 10 years, by putting the lack of trophies… Read more »
littleMozart you will find that Usmanov has not put any money in the club, I don’t know where you get that idea from. Buying shares does not put a single penny into the club. Unless you are talking about him renting some boxes at the stadium, bit f’ing deal.
A year ago, and two years ago Usmanov was casting doubt about Wenger, the club, the players in fact everything Arsenal, now we win a couple of cups and he has completely changed his tune, its called playing to the gallery. thank God he never got control of Arsenal.
Sorry, have i missed something? What money did he pay into the club?
He is a shareholder, not the owner of newly issued shares, therefore he has not put money into the club.
He bought his shares on the open market. Therefore money changed hands between two investors (or speculators), not the club and an investor
He could buy Kroenke out with his pocket change but he doesn’t hold enough shares to force the issue. and Kroenke aint selling
Kroenke is in control and Colorado Rapids is bottom of their conference.
He tried to buy but they wouldn’t sell, and he wasn’t allowed to be part of the board or have access to any insider information, so he has no power to change anything.
Thumbs up for saying ‘duck’, and then not being able to refrain from calling him a ‘cunt’! 🙂
Unless it was a typo… but thumbs up anyway.
The season is just about to kick off after all.
What’s it got to do with him?
You mean other than the fact he owns 30% of the club…
Which is utterly meaningless given the other major shareholder has 67%. As he board has proven every year by utterly ignoring him. Oh and for the umpteenth time, when this man first came on the scene he courted the scum press to get them on his side by taking them on an all expenses paid boozing and whoring trip to Russia. He then stated that on taking over the first thing he would do would be to institute a policy of declaring dividends for shareholders. For those who don’t understand, this means paying an amount of money OUT of the… Read more »
You tell ’em, Bang it.
Baron Greenback can fuck right off.
Wenger’s legacy as the greatest manager in the clubs history is intact as is his legacy as a paradigm shifter for the modern game.
When he retires the club should run the naming rights down on the stadium and call it the Arsene Wenger Stadium.
Yeah, I can really see that happening.
Not sure if sarcastic or not…………. *Inception face*
If it weren’t sarcastic there would be no need to comment it. Also it’s Fat Gooner, the troll with rolls.
they’ll probably name one of the stands after him and a statue would probably be appropriate! Maybe they can use the image of him shoving the Chelsea coach last year, haha.
or ghosting past the bum with his hand out from last week…
Double 98 are you on twitter?
Yes – @CowboyJunkie
Most probably use one of him struggling with his zipper 🙂
That no suit business was absolutely shocking… I wouldn’t have shaken his scruffy little claw either!
Haha, about right.
A statue is the absolute bare minimum and a stand, along with Chapman.
I would love that but it seems like we would need the money from the naming right to stay competitive.
I can definitely see a stand and a statue being made
Was Usmanov stroking an alligator as he was speaking?
More like a big furry cat. And maybe the cat is really the boss, and Usmanov Is just the mouthpiece…
Where’s my coat…
Looks like he ate both the croc and the cat and is saying nice things about Wenger so he can lure him a bit closer and eat him too.
hahaha that cracked me real good at work (cue odd looks from colleagues). Well done! 🙂
I know many people have a negative perception of usmanov, but he does seem to actually care about the club.
Also think David Dein leaving affected wenger in the first few years. Gazidis turned out to be alright and not the demon I thought he was.
The only thing Alisher Usmanov cares about is Alisher Usmanov.
He’s a cunt for sure.
You… thought Gazidis was “a demon” and think Usmanov cares about the club?! Oooookay.
Frustration from losing our best players and not replacing them.
Gazidis hasn’t always been as liked as he is now. If you remember, he kept saying we had money to spend and it was up to wenger to spend it which was not true.
So yeah I was wrong in viewing him that way.
Trez: Trezy, Trezy: Trez. Splendid.
Gazidis, as was right, put himself in the firing line. Besides every canteen line in the world, Greenback just fired shots, some so ill-timed it beggared belief.
If he didn’t care he would have sold his shares at a fat profit.
He has held on to them in spite of having enough cash to buy Kroenke out.
I am not an Usmanov fanboy, but get some perspective
Except he’s on record as saying he’s a Man U fan.
League Cup finals 2007 & 11 FA Cup semi 09 champions league semi 09 At least 2 proper goes at the league. Should have won it in 07/08 and two years ago when we were top for ages. What I’m saying is that we had barren years but could have won things if we’d spent better. For instance we should have resigned Anelka when Chelsea signed him or Cahill for that matter. Add to that some cruel injuries such as Eduardo/ Rambo and RVP being basically fucked for 5 years and it all adds up. ae could have won things… Read more »
If we won the champion league in 06, henry would then most likely stayed with us….we would then at least won 1 league trophy with him…..if only….
07/08 for me was very very painful. If only wenger got that striker jan.
It also didn’t help that wenger never actually took the league cup and to a certain extent FA cup seriously then as he mostly played the youth players.
If only I was a little bit taller.
wenger is a gift to us, nothing but. long may my hero continue.
Kroenke owns 67% of Arsenal and Usmanov owns 30%. Per the majority shareholding rules, Kroenke decides everything and Usmanov doesn’t even get a seat on the board.
I think what Usmanov is trying to say is if the roles were reversed, in 2005 he would have helped fund the Emirates and avoid Arsenal having to face a ‘lost decade’ of competitiveness.
Basically he’s criticizing Kroenke whilst admiring Wenger for having the loyalty to stick around.
Should be pointed out that this was Arsenal’s strategy, not Kroenke’s. But it did allow him to come in and hoover up the shares at an optimum time.
whatever it may be, usmanov was spot on. the members on the board made a killing selling their shares to these two while seeing the club regress from being invincible to top four contenders. they should have bought out the debt and let arsene and dein worry about our football success. we lost dein, saw an exodus of all our best players, without replacing them with comparable quality. don’t even start about our ticket prices.
usmanov does not own 30%, red and white holdings own 30%, Usmanov is a joint owner of R&W, Farhad Moshiri is the other owner of R&W
Hmm. A somewhat orange-tinted view, I think. As I pointed out above, Usmanov had ample opportunities to “help fund” the Emirates in a non-financially doped way, and he spurned them. He could have sponsored us or bought some of our property. He was only interested in helping to fund the club by getting the board to issue more shares. The money from the sale of such shares would have gone into the clubs’s coffers because that would have been a share issue, not a share transfer. But since he would have been in pole position to buy the new shares… Read more »
It is against the club’s principle. In Wenger’s words- We should always be a self sustaining club.
I’m not sure it cost him 10 years of his career but it’s fair to say he could have left in the last decade & gone to almost any club of his choosing but he chose not to. Instead he chose to stay & build something beyond the immediate success most clubs & football fans thrive on.
Anyone who knows football knows Arsene is the greatest manager of all time . The media the football players . All the fans . The only reason they will never admit it is because they don’t want to go against the grain . They know Arsene does everything so different to every other manager . They cannot handle his genius. They keep going on about Russia and UAE countries oil reserves managers . Unfucking believe. I gave up years ago defending this bullshit Sky Sun hate Pure Class . They are scum and they love scum hence they idolise that… Read more »
Exactly my thoughts Satnam. Well said sir.
The news idolizes Mourinho because he makes their jobs easy as fuck – generates ridiculous headlines which makes them lots of money.
Reporters have generally respected Wenger over the years, on record, but respect doesn’t make drama, and that’s what sells.
No, no, no… Never in a million years is he the best of all time. This is the sort of hyperbole that I don’t like to see fans spouting. Why can’t it just be great that we’ve had *one of* the best managers of all time? This isn’t Buzzfeed: not everything has to be the absolute best or the worst.
Being honest there is one barometer by which to judge a manager: success. We’re probably going to enjoy decades of progress as a result of Wenger’s commitment, but that’s entirely different to what you’re arguing.
No no no no no no . What you are roughly saying is Arsene Wenger will be remembered for his commitment and for many years to come paved the way for future success. But it’s trophy that count .
What a load of shit . Bill shankly is remembered as Mr Liverpool . Bob Paisley won much more . Ask anyone who knows football. They will all say Bill shankly , and they never played against teams that had endless black gold from the ground as there budgets. That’s why Arsene is the greatest ever ok mate .
Nope, not “ok mate”……love the old man all you want, he’s done a lot to deserve it…….but to claim he is the “greatest of all time” and use the ridiculous reasoning you did is pathetic & the reason online Gooners are a joke.
I agree 100%. We were lucky to have him especially in the lean years
Stating and Obvious spring to mind.
Why do people believe that Usmanov wanted to come in and bankrole us Abramovich style? This is the man who bitched that the club didn’t pay dividends to shareholders.
Love the way blogs described usmanov as ‘the second largest stakeholder’ and has a pic of the large lummox – so what size is the largest stakeholder?
In fairness, even Wenger might not have thought that it will take 10 years to get back on our feet.
I thought there was talk of 2014 and the project taking 10 years back when they initiated everything. Or am I imagining that??
hindsight, 20/20, blah blah. We held it in. And now hopefully we can let it all out 😉
Onwards and upwards! Fuck Usmanov for ripping the covers off what should feel like a done and dusted era.
I’m racking my brains trying to think of a club which has financed a new stadium and been/remained successful. The only one I can come up with is Swansea. Just imagine if the megabucks billionaires hadn’t got involved in football at the time we were planning/constructing the stadium? That’s the thing that has fucked everything. To have remained fairly competitive within that time while others have spunked their money *cough* Spuds, Liverpool *cough* or are relying on a Sugar-Daddy is nothing short of a miracle in my eyes. Getting into the Champions League in all that time was a major… Read more »
Bayern Munchen?
Govt financed
Taxpayer
Precisely, Bayern Munich…and other teams such a Juve have new stadia. Bayern built a stadium in the same time frame, for an almost identical budget. They however have paid off the stadium years ahead of schedule (final payment last year). They are a bigger club with arguably a bigger fanbase and support (particularly sponsors and with stadium usage) but this neverending guff of a narrative that no one or no club could have done what Arsenal have done in the past decade is hyperbole. Things get over the top when it comes to bolstering the Wenger mythology which is just… Read more »
When an oligarch who made his fortune in the romantic and idyllic former Soviet Union butters us up with soothing words it always gives us a feeling of deep calm and serenity in the knowledge that all is right.
Usmanov is talking rollocks. The truth is that we should have won at least two titles in the last decade: 2008 and 2013.
We had a very competitive wage budget but much of it was wasted on rubbish like Almunia and Bendtner.
Wenger’s first decade was sensational, but after 2006 he lost his touch. He’s a very ordinary manager now. And we won’t move on and be successful until he’s gone.
Sad but true.
Ah Fats cheer up old bean. We’re winning cups again and the team is the best its been for a decade. Come on, crack a smile and think positive my friend.
EVERYTHING IS SHIIIIIT!!!!
You still don’t get it, do you? With very few exceptions, money approximates to silverware. We didn’t have it; ManU, Chelsea, and Man City did. With improved finances we acquired players like Cazorla, Ozil, and Alexis. With an improved squad we improved our chances of acquiring silverware. Yeah, Wenger ‘lost his touch’ the moment our finances ‘fell off the cliff’. Are you really blinkered to your own timing? Promise me you’ll “move on” if this “very ordinary manager” ever wins a PL title or the Champions’ League. Or will you rewrite history to make you AW’s staunchest and most-loyal supporter… Read more »
No, there never was such a thing as no tranfer budget available. For those who keep perpetuating the myth (or simply repeating it) point us to club statements declaring no funds were available please. Wengers choice…and this does not even account the Arsenal were still big enough to have taken players on loans etc. and could have been a lot more creative regarding the squad than they were. Finally, perhaps some here should read other blogs occasionally where several posters have consistently pointed out spending did not increase a couple of years ago, but has done so since 2010. Spending… Read more »
Regarding transfer spending. Net spend 2003/4 – 2013/14: ManC £590M, Chelsea £556M, ManU £385M, Arsenal £90M Swiss Ramble quotes the following: 2003/4 £17M net spend; 2004/5 £2M net spend; 2005/6 £7M net spend; 2006/7 net spent -£17M (gain); 2007/8 net spend £13M; 2008/9 net spend -£4M (gain); 2009/10 net spend -£31M (gain); 2010/11 net spend £7M; 2011/12 net spend -£18M; 2012/13 net spend £9M; 2013/14 (the season we got Ozil) net spend £33M; 2014/15 (the season we got Alexis) net spend £54M. You can see the trend? Between 2003/4 and 2005/6 (inc) we net spent £26M Between 2006/7 and 2011/2… Read more »
Wow, he lost his touch yet, according to you, put together a squad which should have won at least two league titles in a decade despite being massively outspent by the competition? From what you’re saying it seems like a Wenger who has lost his touch must still be one of the top managers in the world.
Like anything, we have done it the Arsenal way and 10 years of not winning nothing but making the investment in the future is what great clubs are about. Champions League every year even when we sold great players. We don’t need or want people to come in and slap 100mil, yh through the bad times when there was no light we all had a belief there was a plan going on otherwise Wenger would of got sacked and now he has built a team …. Invincibles part 2
Hahahahaha, sorry buddy……”great clubs” are about winning TITLES. No ifs/ands/arses about it. Want proof? Barca, Madrid, Juve, Bayern, Atletico, Dortmund, etc……..wanna know what these “great clubs” have in common over the last few years? WINNING MAJOR TITLES & CONTESTING MAJOR FINALS
I guess we’ll only get to see the effect acquiring a new stadium has on a club when the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, and Sp*rs try it. Though probably, it still won’t be a level-playing field. It’s worth repeating for the umpteenth time: Arsene Wenger has (so far) had two distinct periods of noteworthy ‘genius’. The first was when he won 3 PL titles and 4 FA cups. The second when he kept us competitive while the stadium was being paid off. I’d argue that the second was the more difficult. Chelsea fans, even now, think that Abramovich’s hundreds of… Read more »
Keep shifting those goalposts for your wenger agenda
I like that Usmanov’s quotes reflect a “Boris, Ve must get moose and squirrel”- style lack of conjunctions, definite articles, and the like.
If you’re a shady Russian billionaire, be a shady Russian billionaire.
Sorry for the pedantic quibble, but he is an Uzbek, not a Russian. Uzbekistan was a part of the Soviet Union but it is a different nationality.
Wenger as manager till he can’t walk from one end of the field to the other without support.
Feking plain fairweather are fans who want to change the one thing responsible for what is most obviously ours more than ANY other clubs – longevity, stability, and sheer class.
That 1st sentence is EXACTLY what is wrong with a lot of supporters……..professional football is about winning, not wheeling out your grandfather who is only in a position bc he is still breathing. Pathetic
Arsene Wenger managed to reach three cup finals (one Champions League and two League Cups) narrowly losing each one and he achieved CL qualification every year on the budget of Hull City. The man is amazing. Now he can compete better financially he is winning silverware again. We will challenge for the title this season. And we won’t be massively in debt to some obese, Jabba-the-Hutt lookalike, Man United supporting Uzbek.
I agree… One goal here and there, and we could have won couple of trophies with Denilson and Song in midfield)
“Bring me Solo and the Wookie”
~Alisher Usmanov
what an unbelievable thing to say, well harsh and very unfair. Arsene Wenger has kept Arsenal Football Club not only in the Premier League Top 4 and in the Champions League, but has managed us into a strong financial position with a fantastic stadium. This said stadium envied by the majority of supporters and teams that visit each season. This act may have taken 10 years to accomplish, but is one of the most unselfish things that anyone could do for an employer, nevermind the supporters of the club. So how has Arsene wasted ten years of his managerial career.… Read more »
Because he could’ve easily left and teams like Madrid, Bayern would’ve picked him up with their eyes closed and he would’ve probably won the champions league coaching those teams with greater resources.
Sacrificial yes, but probably a waste on a personal level.
Usmanov was already on the moon when the eagle landed and he had nice words to say as he welcomed the first man on the moon
There should have been a rights issue, doubling the amount of shares Kroenke & Usmanov possess while providing an influx of cash. The club’s stock price has sky rocketed compared the time before building the stadium so both men would have been more than compensated for their investment without the need to payback loans or provide stock dividend payments.
But one cannot change the past.
I love Arsene and can’t wait to beat West Ham.
As for Usmanov and Kroenke and shares…meh!
What a c*nt! I remember him attacking Wenger and the board for not spending when we were not winning trophies. Hypocrite.
What is Usmaniov doing at Arsenal? He could quite happily put in a ridiculous offer for Stans shares that even he would find difficult to turn down but he doesn’t. Fans moan at Stan but what did David Dein think that he would do differently to what he has done when he went behind the boards back? looking at SK’s record at his other sports ventures he would not of invested millions in to Arsenal, it just seem strange that nobody as far as I can see has said what DD’s plans were for the club if he and SK… Read more »
That’s some real good english Mr. Usmanov. Clear as mud.
Real good? Don’t insult the fat mans “English” when you can’t speak it correctly yourself, clown………..
Let’s see how the fucking spuds get on when they finance their new stadium….I’ve heard they are calling in the renowned building firm Bodge it and Scarper….
Regardless of all the things Usmanov is or is not (I hate his guts btw) who is to say that him taking over couple of years ago wouldnt have taken the club on this exact path without the decade long wait for a single trophy? Of course, sustainable operations and a reputable club philisophsy is what makes The Arsenal the greatest team (imo) but a team like Bayern Munich for example was basically run the same way as Arsenal was but managed to work out better commercial deals with their success which, not necessarily Wenger, but the board failed to… Read more »
PS: there is nothing organic about improved commercial deals and “paid debts” if Arsenal home games are the MOST expensive tickets in the entire premier league and with all due respect to The Arsenal, the last couple of years other BPL teams should have been the ones charging higher prices than The Arsenal, based on trophies and the fact that they got out of the f***in’ last 16 of the CL whereas we havent. Def not a cynic or a hater, just throwing out another perspective. COYG
But it’s not praising wenger or gazidis so these simple, thoughtless sheep will hate on it
We don’t owe Usamov which has to be a good thing. Wenger did do it the hard way and we built the stadium on our own money. But that retains us some independence and long term stability. Kroenke’s silence works both ways. Whilst some fans want to hear him voice opinions (chiefly theirs not his), his relative abstenance from daily workings allows the club to function properly without meddling which could create instability. Listen to what Liam Brady has to say in his recent interview in Singapore (available on Arsenal Player) This is a club legend who has been involved… Read more »
I think we all have to be thankful that Wenger stayed through the tough times and steered us into the Champions League every season. It could not have been easy for him; he’s a winner and he’d just built one of the greatest squads we’ve seen. While he was part of the planning and the vision for the new stadium, he could have just got sick of all the flak and upped it to Madrid or wherever else. And we would have struggled to get a top manager in his place (with no transfer budgets) Then get a rookie or… Read more »