By Walter Broeckx
Some fans have only bad words for Arsène Wenger. It might be worth having a look at some of them – especially in the light of a 6-0 win.
Wenger doesn’t want to buy. Yes Wenger doesn’t want to buy just for the sake of buying a player. He isn’t interested in showing off to the other managers and saying: ‘Just look at me, I bought player X for £50M, how about that’. No he thinks that prices are too high and maybe they are.
Just for Cesc I would make an exception, he cannot be priced high enough. Wenger does buy but he will only buy after having a very close look at a player. After following him for 1 or 2 years even on training with their clubs. And believe me in Europe a lot of training sessions can be visited at all time by people like you and me. Even at big clubs like Ajax. They just train next to the stadium and you can see them train looking on from the pavement.
Wenger has been buying players all the time but he rarely spends silly money. It has happened a few times but no buy is 100% certain even if you do thing the way Arsenal are doing it. If you see the merry go round at times at other clubs where players are coming in and the same players are getting out at high speed I think we do rather nice.
Wenger is filling his pockets. Yes I agree with this. Wenger is filling his pockets. Just like I do at my work and like you do at your work. And yes it is a fact that Wenger earns a lot more money than I do. Don’t know about the rest of you but I can imagine that he earns a lot more than we all do. But this is the wages that are being paid in football for managers. We can think it is too much and I think in fact it is. But there is nothing we can do about it.
Football managers are very well paid for their job. Off course some are trying to suggest that he is filling his pockets in a slightly suspect way. Now how could this be? By getting a percentage on transfer dealings? And then to think it are mostly the same people who first say that Wenger doesn’t buy players and then suggest he is filling his pockets with his dealings. One has to make up his mind.
Wenger is stubborn. I think he is. Like most successful managers. Mourinho is very stubborn. He keeps holding on to his “killing the enjoyment of the football supporter-tactics”. When they criticise him for this he just goes on and does it his way. I dislike his way, but he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t listen to what people say and he goes his own way. Stubborn yes indeed. Just as Ferguson is stubborn. So being stubborn as a manager is more the mark of a good manager than of a bad one. If a manager would change his mind every week after a game and start changing it all, the players will no longer respect him. And you must have the respect from your players to be a good manager. So I hope Wenger stays stubborn for the remaining years at Arsenal.
Wenger likes us to lose things or Wenger doesn’t want us to win things. Now here is something so stupid I could not argue on this. Whenever we lose a game we know that Wenger will moan about something. If he didn’t mind losing he wouldn’t speak about the ref making bad calls. He wouldn’t speak about his players being kicked to pieces. He just would accept it with a smile and carry on with counting his money and filling his pockets.
No, he is upset when we lose a game, you just have to look at him and you can see it all over his face and body. It is also interesting to see that most people who say Wenger hates losing are the same Arsenal fans who want Wenger to shut up after a defeat and tell him to stop moaning. Maybe because they know that Wenger does hate it to lose?
Wenger has lost it. The only thing he has lost since he came to Arsenal that I can see are his glasses. He has exchanged them for contact lenses as he sometimes couldn’t see what happened on the pitch. But for the rest I cannot see what he has lost apart from some hair on his head. But we all do after a certain age, well I do anyway. He still is a man that is living for his job night and day.
Maybe he has lost a few things during his time at Arsenal. He has lost the chance to go to Madrid or Barcelona. That is an opportunity that he has missed. He could have gone on a few occasions. But he always remained faithful to his contract and his word. So maybe he has lost a lot of money by staying at Arsenal.
Wenger has his favourite players. They say this whenever he plays a player they don’t like themselves. As the fans have their favourite players themselves. So they say Wenger should drop X and play Z. X being the player they don’t like and Z being the player they like. But they forget that for each match the manager is having the players in training, is looking at the other team they have to play and for some matches you need a certain type of player more than another.
They don’t realize that maybe he gives a certain player a certain task to do on the pitch. Something we don’t know and the manager and the player don’t talk about to not alert the opponents. Or maybe some player is having a physical problem with a minor injury so the manager picks the other player to give him a rest. All things we don’t know so we can’t really comment on them. Unless you don’t like the manager and anything will do to throw at him.
What Wenger has done in the last 5 seasons looks not much for the moment, certainly to the people who write rubbish articles in the press. What Wenger has done for this club will be written in gold in a time that we are no longer here. In some 100 years maybe a new Tony Attwood will write a book about this period and call it the Re-Making the Arsenal. Supporters who now even have to be born will look at the Wenger era and will say to each other: It must have been great to have been an Arsenal fan in those days. And hell, yes it is great being an Arsenal fan these days.
Being led by a courageous manager who accepted the risk of going through a period with a smaller chance for trophies and even then he came close a few times, a manager who has led our club through the move to the Emirates and accepted money was short for buying players. A manager who accepted for taking the blame by some part of the fans and stuck out his head during the last period. How easy he could have turned away and go to Real Madrid and leave us in tatters. He didn’t. He stayed because he cares for this club. Maybe he cares even more than some of the fans do who tell all those bad things of him can imagine. Thanks for staying Arsène.
And the 6-0 was good fun too.
The Fair Assessment:-
Almunia- Was almost invisible!! 🙂 but still good enough to comfortably stop their few long shots.
Sagna- Very Good. But still can improve on final pass in the box.
Clichy- Average. He too needs to improve on his long balls into the box.
Vermaelen- Very Good. A few nervy moments but did justice.
Song- Very Good.
Walcott- Superb…finally back to his form.
Rosicky- Above Average
Arshavin- Superb. Hope he does this in every match!!
Diaby- Very Good. Still selfish sometimes. But got away with it ystrday.
Wilshere- Unfortunately, Average. Still has lots to learn.
Chamakh- Very good. Could hav scored a hat-trick. Missed one sitter. But a super big improvement from Anfield.
Cesc- Very Good. Brilliant passes.
Van Persie- Good. Almost gave a heart attack when he was laying injured!!
Vela- Average. A moment of brilliance and then its gone. Needs more consistency.
Overall, it should have been 10-0. Blackpool were expected to get ‘gunned down’ and thats what happened, especially after they lost their defender. Hopefully we can show the same even against the better teams 🙂
May Arsene Wenger live to be a thousand years old.
Hi Walter,
Great piece.
A lot of the ‘critics’ should realise that most of what they write is about their own shortcomings and fears which they then project onto this phenomenal manager.
Dark Prince – wish I was that ‘average’!!!
DIaminedave- you’ll wish u weren’t that ‘average’ when u face Chelsea or United.
Anyways, to seek out places where you can improve even after you have won is the mark of a great footballer!! 🙂
It makes me laugh what some fans come out with but I guess you have to accept that fans want everything now they don’t want the hard work of setting up a youth system, moving stadiums on a shoestring budget so as not to go into administration if we missed out on Champions League for a few years. They want to sign a defender and keeper yesterday, They want to be 8 points clear going into March (actually that ones mine;). They forget that in the 5 baron years we have been in two finals and challenged for the league (before the curse of the injuries happened). They expect instant results I.E. we’e had a youth system for a month now where is the new Adams???. You can’t blame fans for wanting success we like to moan after a defeat just like Wenger ;). @ Dark Price I’d swap Arshavin and Rosicky around thought Rosicky was the best player on the pitch, everything came through him and all moves started with him, admittedly no assists or goals but that’s just one pass after his.
@martin- Rosicky played very well as u said, and he definately was involved in the build up all the time. But on the other hand, almost all the arsenal players are involved in the buildup 🙂 Arshavin, though, looked hungry for some good performance. He provided a good assist for the first goal and his penalty was cleanly taken. Also his crosses were superb, one which Chamakh missed also 😛
Overall both are an integral part of the build up.
How anyone can describe this manager as ‘senile’ ‘geriatric’ or ‘a cunt’ is so far beyond me it hurts. No one can ever doubt how much he cares – it’s the most obvious, visible, tangible thing in the world.
During every game he looks as though he should be advertising antacids – his belief is on the line, his heart on his sleeve.
Oh he cares – he cares more than you – and before you scoff, think. This is his life commitment, achievement and legacy.
Compared to him we’re just fucking tourists.
Walter that was so well written I actually thought it was by Tony!
Your English is improving my friend!
This is a well written article, however there is one piece which brings it all down.
I dont understand your “Wenger doesnt want to buy” piece. Is this some sort of defense of Wenger’s stubbornness when we have such pressing issues to deal with?
How do you justify us raising the same figure to Fulham a mere few months down the line? Different manager? Schwartzer’s age and amount of contract left? Wenger not wanting to spend a “silly 4 million”? No, when Wenger makes statements like we have enough money to challenge and overtake Chelsea in the transfer market (check the official site), this signalling to us all that there is money to spend, and then he goes about this frugal behavior it makes me shake my head. Here is a stubborn man who is willing to chance a sub par defensive setup yet again. Here is a man who himself declared our immense frailty at the back last season, YET is unwilling to address these issues immediately in the close season. In short he is willing to chance things for the sake of saving money, sadly when the likes of Gazidis comes out on numerous occasions and declares our strong financial position.
There is no forgiveness for the fact that Wenger refuses to address our frailties properly and in good time. Our need for another keeper, center half and defensive midfielder cannot be stressed enough.
Lets hope the Wenger knows policy gets us the reinforcements we so desperately need. Either that or he should just stop playing games and come out and say who he backs from within the squad going forward into 10-11
SA Gunner the transfer window is still open – in the meantime Almunia is doing a decent job. He isn’t the best but does not compare as unfavourably as is suggested by the media and the crowing masses. All Arsene is doing is trying to get a fair deal for the club £4million is a stupid price, we’ll probably settle nearer 3.
It is only football fans who talk of a million as though it were nothing.
I love Jack..nevermind what dark prince said..I love Jack..he’s fighter..rosicky is coming back..oohh i love them both..they both r the engine of arsenal last match..
dark prince, rosicky – above average. What game was you watching, he ran the midfield, linked with all our moves and kept passing forward. He was as important as walcott yesterday. And how can you judge vela’s consistency on such little football. Cesc wasn’t THAT good when he came on, certainly no better than wilshere and definitely not better than rosicky
If arsene wins the premiership this season, and the ones who moaned and talked shit about wenger in the beginning, starts to cheer and get all happy. I get the feeling those “fans” dont deserve to experience that if they cant support arsenal properly istead of moaning about the way its being run
@Jonny
Why are we wasting time over a million, when money supposedly isnt an issue. This has been stated by Wenger on numerous occasions (see official site) as well as the board.
Im sure you are aware of the famous war chest we have at our disposal.
However this is not the point. The point is that Wenger is wasting time with an area he himself identified as a weak point in the previous campaign. Surely, for us to effectively go forward we should have dealt with this frailty first and foremost? Give the squad time to prepare with the new reinforcements in place as well as any change of tactics that might be needed to sort out this problem.
Instead we are dabbling over a million, worse yet we insult the potential selling club by bringing the same offer to the table. No Jonny, but this does not sound like effective strategy to me.
The window remains open and thus we all remain in hope. However so far, in this area, Wenger has been performing poorly, and is very close to failing. I cannot keep quiet about that and am prepared to take a beating from this blog, as I predict posters here would call me anti-Arsenal for going against Wenger’s tactics.
We are very close to having a very strong team, with enough depth to challenge on all fronts. What we need is movement from the manager. No banks need breaking for this. Just proper movement and quality movement at that.
@Eirik
I think people are quick to put those who disagree with Wenger’s tactics into an anti-Arsenal brigade or thereabouts.
Its not that clear cut imho. I think what needs to be done is to have a look exactly at what the moaners are moaning about.
I for one am critical of Arsene’s transfer movements. I believe he can be sharper in terms of his timing and decision making. Lets not waste time in areas where we feel we dont value the player as the seller does, i.e. the Schwartzer issue.
Secondly, I dont believe there is a point in Wenger playing “mind games” with the media, when looking at his transfer targets. Sure he makes a valid point when refusing to divulge who he intends to bring in BUT for him to include a may or may not speech doesnt make sense to the fans. Why dont you just get behind the players you have lined up for that position and be done with it. We as a club can then get behind our team for the new season.
I rate Wenger, I think he is a magnificent mind. However he has flaws, flaws which cause us to stagnate at one level when we can so easily fly from strength to strength. Does this make me Anti-Arsenal? Well I leave that for a thinking mind with an opinion to decide.
To Dark Prince…What game were you watching? Rosicky had a better game than Arshavin in every department. It seems the bloggers over here are as guilty as those they dislike when it comes to favourtism.
SA Gunner, Its not about spending an extra million. If we agree for this high price this time, it will have a rippling effect on our future transfers… That is why we aren’t budging.
When Arsene said We can outbid Chelsea, he didnt mean we are going to spend silly money. He just meant that we can now afford all the players we need. He just said that the financial hand-cuffs has been removed and now we dont have a huge burden..
SA Gunner, your statement “he has flaws, flaws which cause us to stagnate at one level when we can so easily fly from strength to strength” does make you a part of AAA. Can you please tell everyone how have we stagnated? I really hate it when people just say the word ‘stagnate’ without any explanations. If it is just the trophies, then I’m sorry I dont agree that we have stagnated.
In the last 5years, we have reached the Champions League final for the first time in our history. In 2007 we reached the final of the Carling Cup with our young team and outplayed a full-strength Chelsea team for 70mins. In 2007/08 season, we were clear at the top of the league until the fateful day late feb. Even last season we did pretty well. If you say we have stagnated inspite of all this, then you ARE a part of the AAA.
SA Gunner, I somehow get the feeling that you have not been much involved in negotiations in the world of business. Or if you have, then maybe they were fairly straightforward.
My company is not as big as Arsenal by any means but if we are negotiating for something we forever try to lay false trails, and test out those we are working with. Goodness, we even do this when we spot a competitor who might be working out what our next move is – we then deliberately put out some stuff on the websites which we hope will throw them off the scent until we are ready to roll.
Meanwhile you have to acknowledge that many times you are not dealing with logical people. Business people are generally not very logical, and the ones who do well are the ones who not only lay trails but also recognise that those they are dealing with don’t always do the most logical thing.
That’s all that Arsenal is doing – going for the players he wants and recognising what the market is like.
If you insist on reading the situation as if all was revealed, known, straightforward and logical, you really won’t see the world for what it is.
Thanks Jonny. The best thing to learn a language is to use it as much as possible, so that’s just what I try to do.
been reading this site for a long time and like many others here find it to be the most balanced of sites regarding our great club.This is the 1st time i’m commenting and that is because i’m fed up of fans like SA Gooner,going on about Wenger not buying players.Maybe he just doesn’t know,or maybe he’s forgotten.The man who does the buying and selling at our club NOW is IVAN GAZIDIS.So if you want to have a moan in future,blame the right man.Not our manager who like us, wants the players HE’S TARGETED and deals to be done ASAP.
@wen_detta- I love jack too. And i kno he’s gonna be a future arsenal legend. But it will take some time to see his best. He still is a teenager, so i guess another 3-4 years are left for him to reach his prime. I hope for the best.
@reece- rosicky played well, no doubt about that. But he wasn’t the one making the killer final passes, it was arshavin. And Vela has always been like that. In some parts he shows that he’s completely enigmatic, and in most parts he gets bundled up. And Vela played 25 minutes, and that isn’t too small time that he couldn’t make an impression. And maybe u didn’t read Cesc’s passing vision. Its clearly obvious that he has a vision of the game that exceeds some of player’s imagination. Most of his brilliant passes were not read on time by the other players.
@IndianGooner
Im so glad you have asked me the question on why I say we stagnate. I accept that you call me an AAA, however I respond to you with facts of the matter.
Ill start by listing our transfers since 05-06. Note, Ill say upfront that it has partly to do with us being trophyless, however more to do with the nature of our development plans as held by Wenger and the management in 2005.
For the sake of simplicity, I will use players coming in that have gone on to feature significantly for our first team in the next season, versus players leaving who featured as well.
end 2005
In: Hleb, Adebayor
Out: Vieira
end 2006
In: Rosicky,Gallas, Denilson
Out: Cygan, Cole, Lauren
end 2007
In: Eduardo, Sagna, Diarra
Out: Henry, Ljungberg, Reyes
end 2008
In: Ramsey, Nasri, Silvestre, Arshavin
Out: Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto, Diarra
end 2009
In: Vermaelen, Campbell
Out: Adebayor, Toure
end 2010
In: Chamakh, Koscielny
Out: Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell
Looking at these players, who played a part in the first season in which they came in, it shows that Wenger has maintained a level of stagnation. Sure we can also look at these movements as Wenger focusing on the youth, as seen with Denilson, Song, Bendtner, Djourou, etc BUT from a strength point of view we have not significantly grown to keep up with the pace. Something I believe Wenger could have done easily, without the spending of too much money. The Flamini, Hleb, Gilberto, Diarra departures is especially shocking in this regard.
So no, Im not trying to be anti-Wenger, Im merely looking at what has transpired in the last 10 or so transfer windows and can see that Wenger could have done much better, without having to spend massive amounts (as he would be dealing with contract extentions mostly). This is why I fear for us going into this week as well
@Saga sphinx- Maybe we both saw the game in different games. There’s no favourtism for me. Arshavin made most of those killer passes. Rosicky no doubt had a good game, but Arshavin clearly played better than him. He looked more dangerous.
An extra note on my previous post.
This could have very well been a plan by Wenger and the board, due to their lack of finances. However I believe that simple additions (in the form of contract renewals) would have gone a long way to pushing our team forward in leaps and bounds. Instead of a buy like Arshavin in 2009, we could have used money like that to keep some of the players we have lost.
On the other hand its good to see Gazidis ensuring we get the contract extensions signed early. To me it shows them learning from their mistakes.
Winter and summer of 07-08 is a shocker, Ill reiterate that one.
@IndianGooner
Re: Money to spend
Im sure you will agree that the stability and readiness of a team is very important going forward.
I now ask, if that is the case and Wenger himself stating that our defense was the weak point last season, do we see him dabbling around this issue? Surely it is a priority in terms of what is best for the team and thus he should address it first and foremost?
I now ask you to consider the recent report about us going back to Fulham with the same 2 million which was rejected. Surely if we are serious we would look somewhere else instead of throwing the same rejected amount back at the sellers. Also, what does this say for our respect towards Fulham? Heck, we were refusing to budge when Barcelona made their bid. Imagine if they came with the same bid a few months later.
No, to me Arsene is playing games by trying to grab a bargain price for such an important position in our team. Unfortunately (and here I pray Im wrong) I dont see us getting in the GK we need, and for that I cannot praise Arsene as being a sensible buyer. That is just ignoring an important need due to being frugal.
@Tony
Fair enough, we are dealing with a manager who has been in the business of transfers for many a year. Looking at his past movements I myself will raise my hand in appreciation for what we have seen at our great club.
However, the point is when looking at the keeper situation, is that we are firstly short on time and secondly in a situation where it would take an improved offer to get the desired player away from his club. Because they dont want to sell. I dont think much business experience would be needed for that one sir, my one legged dog would even advise that.
If you think back to the Fabregas saga recently, now imagine Barcelona did that and came back to us with the exact same figure we rejected. Does it sound logical to you at all Tony? Do you think we need years and years of business experience to consider that reply?
I think I heard this same article from a preacher once.
You can never know what is in the mind of God, every act on Earth has a meaning that you can’t comprehend, and to question His motives is heretical and will damn you to hell.
It doesn’t surprise me that a 6-0 win over a 10 man Blackpool has caused everyone to think that all is well, that we are on the way to winning the treble and nothing is wrong in the House of Wenger.
Busch
It doesn’t surprise me that a 6-0 win over a 10 man Blackpool has caused everyone to think that all is well
I can tell you it would stagger me if this were the case. The Arsenal internet sites are awash with talk about how it is just a false dawn, how we started well last year and then collapsed… You have to realise that the Anti-Arsenal Arsenal sites dominate Arsenal comment – I can’t possibly understand how you have missed this fact.
SA gunner – so we are stagnating at in the uppermost echelons of the game – raises eyebrows in quizzical bemusement.
Dark Prince – judging by the way most Arsenal players talk and by the intelligence shown by our Lord….. (I dare not speak this sacred name out loud) I will bet that most of the players are their own ‘arshest critics 🙂
When a team is playing well it is the team playing well.
Chamack and Theo both created space for others and who then moved into it – which is most important? Ans:- Neither. Cant have one without the other
Clichy gave cover for Arshavin to allow him to do his stuff ….boring non eye catching stuff but very useful.
But what is most important? …Ans Its all important.
It is a team game. It is why our lord….. emphasises the team (or collective) but with the provisio that individual flair should be used.
SA Gunner- To your last post to Tony, I’d just like to chip in from very useful sources I know of is that. The 2nd bid wasnt a bid at all, they were literally just informing Fulham that the 2mil bid earlier in the summer was still open if they wanted to accept it. Its ridiculous what the media make out of it though.
What is SA Gunner moaning about? No one cares more about Arsenal than Arsene Wenger; He wants to bring in players but he’s not going to pay silly money.
The window is still open, so let’s reserve any moaning for the moment.
Yes Mr Broeckx it is a wonderful time to support “THE ARSENAL”
@Jerome J
I was just coming in to post something along those lines. I came across the news that we just reiterated that our initial offer was still on the table, as Fulham didnt provide an answer all those months ago.
With this in mind I need to apologise to Wenger and co. I was clearly misinformed on proceedings.
@realex99
News of Squillaci about to join us is a positive move. We are still short if we look at our goalkeeping, but we are moving forward at least. It must be said that we are a signing away from a good window in my opinion. Come on Wenger, pull it out the fire!
@DIaminedave
Indeed we stagnate. How does a team, who never broke the bank in its history, go from invincibles and evergreen title contenders to content with fourth place year on year. If you wondering about whether Im referring to the spend spend spend option do read my in and out post above. Wenger is an intelligent man, who is more than capable of putting together and managing class with next to nothing.
Kudos to the boss for keeping us competing with the best, BUT if we look at a team like 2007-08 then its clear to see what Wenger is capable of.
SA Gunner @ 4.02pm
You are correct, the club stagnated in the period you referred to. However, it was as a result of the club’s deliberate plan – to keep costs low – while the stadium project was on.
Therefore, the club anticipated the stagnation and had Wenger’s cooperation. They even said their scenario included being out of Championship football for 1 or 2 years (i.e. coming in at worse than 4th position).
So, we can say Wenger, in the period, did better in terms of the money he saved (we consistently made MORE money in the transfer market than we spent) and we never performed below 4th position.
What this means is that what happened in the period was not as a result of Wenger not knowing, forgetting or being negligent in doing what he had been doing very well in previous years to keep Arsenal competitive and winning but as a result of having to do something less because of other imperatives imposed by the overall future plans of the management for the club.
Often, we talk as if Wenger suddenly lost his marbles in 2005 – when we know that focusing exclusively on the footballing side of the club in that period to date doesn’t tall the entire story.
So if we come 1st all the time we stagnate!!!
ok this is not a anti wenger post but can some one please explain to me What is Arsene’s grand plan?
It’s struck me that much of the present anti-Wenger / anti-Board sentiment is borne out of a lack of knowing what the Club are trying to achieve. Various elements of our support claim that we have beeen mis-led, particularly in respect of moving to the Emirates. We were told that this was to allow us to compete, but the perception is that we are as un-competitive (in the transfer market) as we have ever been under Wenger. So what is the answer to the conundrum?
This is my theory….
1) We moved to the Emirates with good intentions. The increased turnover would allow us to achieve a more stable financial footing and therefore become ‘self-sufficient’.
2) Once this plan was set in place, Wenger started a youth project to get us through the lean years whilst we were breaking the back of the Emirates debt pile. Again the intentiions were good.
3) Whilst the plan was to bolster the youth project with experienced professionals, the cash was unavailabe due to the temporary failure of the Highbury project, which in turn was due to the un-forseen property crash.
4) As a result of the Highbury debacle, Wenger and the board put even more faith in youth. In essence, what became a short-term plan, became a medium-term plan.
5) Now that the Highbury deal has been completed and the Football Club has continued to throw off profits, the Club have found themselves unable to compete due to the rise of the Billionaire football investor – Man City, Chelsea etc.
6)The Club have taken the decision not to compete with the likes of City, Real Madrid, Man Utd, Chelsea etc. They have taken the moral high ground and are now instead playing a long-game.
7)The Club’s view is that financial imprudence cannot last, and that in the long-term Arsenal will come out the big winners. The Billionaire investment is illogical. At some point, whether be it through FIFA regulations, or Billionaires simply getting bored and withdrawing, this period of financial madness in the football transfer world will end.
The aims of the Board are now for the Club to stay competing ‘relatively’. As long as we can qualify for Champions League each season, we will be able to navigate this ‘bubble’ and we will come out the other end as top dogs.
9) To this end, the Club have set rigid financial targets, which they will not deviate from. Hence our failure to sign top players on silly wages, for silly amounts of money.
In short, my theory is that whilst Arsenal set out with a plan, they have been forced to amend this along the way, due to circumstances thrown upon them. Nobody forsaw the Property crash or Billionaires spending astronomical amounts on football clubs (an illogical investment). The Club have committed to a long-term strategy of financial prudence, which they feel will serve us best in the long-term.
Whether this theory is correct, nobody but the Board will ever know. Whether this plan, if correct, will ever come off, remains to be seen. I think it’s safe to say that what is happening now will continue for some period of time, and that we will just have to get used to faith in youth and a lack of activity in the transfer market.