afc Interview with a useless lying c*nt

[mark_INIESTA_davies]

Wenger's net spend after 16 years in charge is £20m after the Song sale.

Not bad eh?

3 Titles

4 Fa Cups

3 Charity Shields

1 Champs League Final

1 Uefa Cup Final

+ Numerous semi-finals

[The Infamous]

Hes like rick parry I feel for arsenal

[TF S4DK]

Arsenal have gone through another eventful summer which has left many of their fans asking questions about the club.

This summer has seen big name departures, big signings and debate over contracts.

There is also Financial Fair Play, the future of Arsene Wenger and the importance of winning trophies.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis gave an honest and insightful view on the club and this is the full Q&A from his interview.

There is a perception that - perhaps you would say unfairly - contracts are not being well managed but your argument is look at performance over time?

Gazidis: Clearly the club has been on quite a long journey from the early 2000s when we could have been complacent about our position in the game and took some really significant decisions to push the club forward. That was a very ambitious step for the club and it involved a really bold move.

The club knew in taking that step that it was going to have some challenges along the way. I don't think anybody in the game anticipated the way that salaries would explode over the course of that decade but nevertheless, even in that environment, primarily through Arsene's good judgement, the club has consistently remained at the top of the game.

The overall journey that the club embarked on was to make it one of the leading clubs in the world and to do it in a way that would be sustainable. Not to do it for a moment in the sun but be able to count ourselves in the ranks of Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munichs of this world over the next generation. That's a tremendously difficult thing to envisage, let alone achieve.

Along the way the environment became more difficult and I think Arsene has done an absolutely masterful job within the constraints he has - they are a club that is doing this on its own two feet without an outside benefactor - to make really smart decisions over time. He hasn't got every one correct but broadly fantastic decisions on players, the development on the team, the need to keep the team competing at the top of the game.

We have been in Europe for 15 straight years. We are ranked sixth in Europe by UEFA - those things are taken for granted but they are fantastic achievements through the process of building a stadium and catapulting the club forward.

We are coming to the end of the stadium journey now where some of the commercial deals that we tied into the stadium move, which were fantastic deals for us because they enabled us to get the stadium built, are coming up for renewal. We have got the opportunity as a club to really catapult our revenues forward again.

I am very conscious of the fact that it sometimes sounds like I talk about Arsenal in terms of revenue streams and so on. Partly that's because it's a big part of my job, but really all of this is about football. It's about putting this football club at the top of the football map and in the modern world, you have got to have the revenues to be able to do that. This club has a really simple financial model. I wouldn't call it a business model because it is not like any other business I know or could imagine.

We generate revenue and we reinvest all of that revenue in football. We don't pay dividends, the money doesn't come out of the club. All of the money we make is made available to our manager and he has done an unbelievable job in managing that spend. When we evaluate how well we are doing, I think there are three factors.

Firstly, whether we are able to compete financially at the top of the game. That depends on the environment that we are in which I believe has been somewhat irrational in terms of player spending but is becoming more rational as the game wakes up and demands regulation. We see that in FFP moving at a tremendous rate at UEFA level, and also there is serious discussion happening at the Premier League level domestically. Although there is a lot of scepticism about those chances and we think they are very good for the sustainable environment of the game.

The second element is how much the club can generate within that environment. We try to be responsible in the way we generate revenue but at the same time we look to grow it. As we come to the end of these commercial deals, the opportunity to renew our primary sponsorship deals at a significant increase which will propel us forward as a club in terms of revenue. Revenue is important because, especially under FFP, it determines how much ultimately you can spend on players. Lastly, it is about how efficiently you spend the money. As I have said, we don't take money out of the club.

It is all available to spend on the football but you can waste money very quickly in football and large amounts if you are not careful. We have a manager who has got an outstanding record in making difficult football judgements. It's not all about which players you sign in the transfer market, although that is one element of it, but managing the football club is far more complicated than that. There are many different factors to it: efficient management of player contracts, good talent identification, good talent development, succession planning, the dynamic within the squad, the ability to create something between the players that is more significant than the individual players themselves which insulates you from individual player comings and goings.

All of those elements are thought about extremely deeply in making our contract decisions and those are ultimately decision that are made within the overall financial constraints by Arsene on the basis of his footballing judgement.

While we can get into extensive debate about individual decisions - and I would certainly say we don't make mistakes because, like all clubs, we are not perfect in our judgement - the ultimate arbiter of whether you are spending your money efficiently is a very absolute hard judgement which is where did you finish in the Premier League versus your overall spending.

It's far easier to have your performance out-perform your spend for a couple of years because you can make short term decisions that deliver a quick hit but may not be sustainable.

It is far more difficult to out-perform your spend on a consistent mid or long term basis and when you look at what Arsene has done within the overall constraints, he has outperformed our spending every single year he has been manager. It is an extraordinary record and that's why the board have faith and trust in Arsene and will continue to do so.

What is the projection on what commercial deals will do?

In terms of the financial impact on the club, although it isn't represented in concrete, it will be as significant a step forward for the football club from a financial viewpoint as the stadium was in 2005. It's a significant and dramatic football step.

Of every major club, we have the most potential for growth in that area. Already, we are ranked as fifth. I think Chelsea, because of the year they just had, will leapfrog us for a year or so, but once that kicks in on a really sustainable business, it kicks us into the top five clubs in the world with separation from the rest. That's a fairly extraordinary thing.

Our board gets much maligned along the way, but what they don't do is treat the football club as a popularity contest. Everything they do is only for the good of the club. And actually, the way this club has driven itself forward from where it was is something I am slightly in awe of. To be sitting at the top of the game in 2001-02 and make a decision like they made. Let's imagine the two worlds. It's not pie in the sky - it is going to happen.

We will be separated away as one of the top five clubs in the world in revenue, versus had we stayed at Highbury and we stayed with six or seven other clubs in the same ballpark position, we would be in amongst them scrambling somewhere between mid to upper table in financial terms.

That would be the financial constraints he would be operating under. Even he might struggle in that situation. We get accused of a lack of ambition or complacency because apparently the board are only interested in the top four - that is absolute rubbish. To me this is the most ambitious football club I know. To be able to execute the vision is amazing to me.

Traditionally managers and clubs are judged on silverware. We can debate as to whether winning the FA Cup is more important than the top four. But is Arsenal committed to trophies?

It's what we're trying to do. We're trying to win. In fact, we try to do more than that, we try to win with style. We have a certain way of playing football that we take pride in.

So again, it's a high ambition. I know we haven't achieved that in recent years. There's no-one at this football club that doesn't feel the pain of not being able to do that in recent years. But absolutely that's what we're trying to do and we want to do it on a sustainable basis going forward. We're very optimistic about this season, even through the loss of a player as important as Robin van Persie.

We went through some major challenges last season and yet still came near the top of the game. But it's not what we're aiming to do. We're absolutely trying to win silverware and we're trying desperately hard to do it this year.

Presumably having led you through that tough period, you want to see Arsene Wenger lead you through those good time as well?

It's not a sense of sentimentalism, not a reward for our services, it's a belief that we have an incredible manager who loves this club and is the best man to lead us forward.

We're really confident about the direction that the club is heading. We're coming through strongly and we believe we're really well placed. We hope and believe that Arsene will be a part of that as we move forward.

At the same time, as a club, we have to make sure that all of the things that Arsene has brought to the club are enshrined in our DNA to make sure that when the day comes when Arsene decides it's time to hang up your boots - I don't know what the expression is as a manager - that we are in a position to take his ideas and work forward.

The values that Arsene has brought to the club together that the values the club had before Arsene are what will inform us - and I don't want to give any indication that this is happening - and give us the framework as to who might take over from him in the longer term.

He is written into our DNA. He's incredibly fit, has played in some staff games recently. I've watched him on the sidelines in his brogues and he doesn't look too good. But when you put him out on the football field, he is still fit, quick and a good footballer.

He is still fit, ready to go and enthusiastic about the players we've got, particularly the younger players - and often that's the thing that gets him most excited. Which, again, is quite unusual.

It's fantastic to see his endless enthusiasm and I really have learnt from Arsene, and players learn from him as well. We're not dominated by fear and yet we live in an environment in football where fear is really prevalent.

Players feel fear all the time and yet actually Arsene never succumbs in his thinking about players, his thought process and how players can develop to his worst fears. He's always looking forward. He's never governed by fear.

The football club was never governed by fear a long way before Arsene was here, and that's why I think we all get on so well.

I think he could stay on longer, absolutely he could. We haven't discussed it yet but I believe he could. He's fit, 62 years old, he's in fantastic shape and he's as driven as he's ever been, as enthusiastic and excited as ever and I feel he can keep going for a long time.

Can you keep your top players happy and on top contracts at the club in Premier League terms?

I think we have to have a team that is competing at the top of the game, a team which represents modern Arsenal and to do that we've got to manager our player contracts well. We've got to be responsive to the marketplace even when they're governed by factors we can't control.

We give that a lot of thought and broadly we make good decisions that are within the responsible financial capability of the club which is growing, our financial capability is growing.

But we're very disciplined about not making decisions which may jeopardise that and I understand that, at times, that can be frustrating.

But the club is on a really positive path, it's really healthy, we've got a really healthy squad and the foundation and the lifeblood of that is the young players who come through.

A year ago, no-one was talking about Oxlade-Chamberlain. Two years ago no-one was talking about Jack Wilshere. Kieran Gibbs is another example. We give young players a chance.

You go through the transfer window and there is a near hysterical environment created where the only measure of potential and success is how much a club spends on transfer fees. I don't want to say that's not relevant, it's one of the relevant factors in how a club can succeed.

But a club's success is far far more complicated and multi-layered than how much you spend on transfer fees in a transfer window. Balancing al of those factors is something Arsene does really really well.

Lots of players are on big money throughout the squad. Do you need to restructure to keep the stellar players happy and on big contracts?

We have a wage structure which we think works for us, it's not fixed in stone - we adapt it over time. There are no absolute hard and fast rules. We look at situations not just individually but in the context of the whole, in the context of what we are trying to do. We are adaptive and, in the end, our performance against our spend is judged on the pitch every year and I think we have got an excellent record.

Can you compete like that? Should you be paying more?

We are an incredibly transparent football club. We publish our accounts and they get analysed. I don't think there is a big secret what our financial capability is. We are also very explicit about the fact that we live within our means.

There is no great mystery about this. Can we compete at top salary levels? Yes we can, but we have an ethos at the club - the way Arsene expresses it is that it is not about individual players, it is what happens between them.

The way we train, the way we play is all about passing, communication, movement, intelligence, anticipation and technical execution. All of these types of things, it is very much a team ethos. I think it is one of the things that makes us resilient to the loss of an individual player and, over time, we have seen Arsenal lose some really significant players but bounce back strongly.

That's not something that just happens by accident. It doesn't happen by accident that Ian Wright is succeeded by a Thierry Henry is succeeded by an Adebayor is succeeded by a van Persie. It is not just happy coincidence. It is part of the ethos of the club, very much based around a team, very much based around giving young players an opportunity to step up and step forward and show what they can do.

We give a lot of thought to our wage structure. Within an overall constraint, if you are paying four or five players superstar wages, it restricts what you are able to do with other players and there are no hard and fast rules on any of that. We think very very carefully about it and there is a pretty hard and fast measured stick by which you can judge or overall decisions over time.

Can Financial Fair Play work in England and in Europe?

I think the perception of FFP at the moment is lagging behind the reality. I think there is a perception that Michele Platini devised an evil plan in his bath to go after English football. That's just simply not the case.

The FFP proposals were developed by Uefa in very close consultation with the ECA representing clubs all across Europe. An incredible amount of work went into those regulations.

They were endorsed and supported by football clubs. They are not rules coming down on high, they are actually rules the clubs themselves developed in conjunction with Uefa and absolutely support. Not only do we see that at the European level, but we are seeing support for this type of regulation in the Football League, we are seeing very serious discussions within the Premier League about introducing these regulations domestically.

Some form of financial regulation has extremely broad support among the Premier League clubs. So, I would be less optimistic if the rules were not being generated by football clubs themselves.

Football clubs are demanding that football has a more sustainable environment. We have enormous amounts of revenue and increasing revenue being generating by the game. But we still have an environment where all of that money and more than just the additional money that is being generated is being spent. That creates an unsustainable environment. We can see consequences all across the game, in England and overseas.

Clubs are crying out for some kind of stability, some kind of predictability, some kind of regulation that will allow more clubs to compete and more clubs to develop themselves through more than simply on players. Spending on player development, spending of stadiums for example.

All of those sentiments are enshrined in those FFP regulations and I think the closer you get to decision makers in the game, you hear not just an acceptance of those regulations but an endorsement of them and an expectation that they will be strictly enforced. That is the expectation in the game, that is the expectation that Uefa are delivering and increasingly that is what clubs in the Premier League are demanding.

I always have a healthy scepticism but very optimistic that we are going to see football moving into an era of more responsibility that will be really healthy for the game and really healthy for supporters who won't have to have the kind of concerns they have had about the financial health of their football clubs.

And then we can get on to playing the game and that is what we really want to see.

Is it a positive sign that the Premier League clubs seem happy to embrace it and bring in their own FFP rules?

I think it's a result, John, of a realisation of where does all this end. What's the end game in just simply seeing ever increasing, spiraling spending. Many owners are saying, how can I stay involved?

Owners are also finding that they cant find good custodians for their football club to come in. Who would want to get involved in an environment when you are going to have compete and, along the way, probably be vilified. It's not the most attractive proposition.

At the end of the day I think I would rather be buying a season ticket. I do think the way football is moving towards an environment in which you don't have to lose enormous amounts of money, where you can break even means that we are more likely to have more local owners who can be involved. Far more interest from good ownership from around the world.

I think in the longer term that will mean better ownership, more responsible ownership from football clubs. I think fans of the game will benefit from that environment. It's a really healthy development.

I think more and more people are recognising the benefits. It's become mainstream. There are very few voices, very few, who are speaking out about FFP. I'm not even sure I know any. They are in the wilderness at this point. It's going to happen and it is happening faster than people realise.

[Shatterstar]

Complete waffle, especially the answers to the contract questions.

[TF S4DK]

ARSENAL are expected to release figures any day now which will show Arsene Wenger is sitting on at least £50MILLION of cash.

Despite the team’s decent start, some fans want to know why he has not invested more money in the squad.

Accounts for last season will confirm Arsenal again made a profit in the transfer market, thanks to the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

The books will say the Gunners had well over £100m in the bank at the year end of May 31, 2012. But that will include most of their season ticket revenue for 2012-13, a big chunk of which will go to cover current operating costs.

Financially savvy Gooners will look also at the net debt and expect to calculate Wenger has £50m or more stashed away – excluding the expected £25m windfall from the Queensland Road development.

They will also study the size of the pay package to Ivan Gazidis. In 2009-10, he earned £938,000 basic, a £669,000 bonus and other benefits. In 2010-1, it was £1,026,000 and £601,000.

After another trophyless season and the exits of Robin van Persie and Alex Song, fans may ask at October’s AGM whether the chief executive should have to deliver more than top-four finishes and transfer profits to earn his bonus.

[Heero Yuy]

Arsenal PLC looking healthy as usual.

[Captain Planet]

We can buy Neymar

[TF S4DK]

John Cross ‏@johncrossmirror

Huge Black Scarf anti-greed banner outside #afc Arsenal AGM entrance with @BlackScarfAFC members to greet shareholders

#afc AGM underway with Peter Hill-Wood opening up. Stan Kroenke here and Ivan Gazidis about to speak...

#afc Gazidis paying tribute to Arsenal Ladies successes and Pat Rice's service. Gazidis stressing 'ambition which is all about football.'

Gazidis says ambition is competing both domestically and in Europe. Hails 'bravery and ambition' of move to Emirates and 'off field journey'

Gazidis says club 'increasingly well positioned' to take advantage of growing global brand. He's confident of new commercial deals in 2014

Gazidis said: 'within 2 years we will be able to compete within the success. Financial success relevant to our football because funds PTO

Gazidis said: "I believe we can take this club bck to winning trophies. Standing together we can make Arsenal one of leading clubs in world'

Up first @10akhil with question. Peter Hill-Wood stumbles over his name. Akhil is a true Arsenal legend, Mr Chairman. Ivan Gazidis knows Akhil, greets him warmly and addresses his question on ticket prices and says there's a 'responsible balance' on pricing

Tough question. Gazidis being criticised in this question for putting profits before trophies. Gets big ovation after questioning RvP sale. Gazidis now answers question directly. 'Our target is not profit, it's to have success on the pitch.'

Big moment for @DarrenArsenal1 his question on dividends for the board. Here's Stan - he thanks Darren and says KSE record in sport. Stan continued: 'we've never put a debt on this club. This is 6th AGM and my only regret is I didn't get involved earlier'

Stan Kroenke says he's met with AST and supporters. @timpayton interrupts and says he's not carried out a legal promise to meet fans. Getting nasty now. Kroenke says he's 'surprised' at @timpayton for interrupting as he's met with him 'numerous times.' Pretty sure that Tim means meeting with fans/AST groups as a whole. Stan quizzed about meeting them again. 'I guess I'm missing that as I think I've already answered that question.'

Regular heckling from the floor now towards Gazidis, Kroenke and, in particular, PHW. 'You're chairman - it's your job to know that.'

Gazidis now answering question on Usmanov/Red and White. I can't see them ever working together.

Another AST member Nigel Phillips questioning the club/RvP ambition. This is by far and away the ugliest, rowdiest AGM I've attended.

Gazidis: "we're losing a bit of order here". Asks for return to pre-submitted questions.

Here's Wenger. Thank Goodness. Apologises for last night. 'Id like to publicly thank Pat Rice' for 16 years of service.

Wenger acknowledges dissatisfaction. 'But it's important we not get overboard. If everybody is devastated when we finish third I promise I won't be here when we finish 15th. We lost our first CL game in 43. That shows we're solid.'

#afc Wenger: 'I believe this team can deliver. I'm optimistic that we can have a good season & I'm confident the players can prove us right'

Wenger 'Our policy remains the same: produce our own players, 60-80 PV of our own players, English players and the rest must be top class'

Wenger says Arsenal compete for 5 trophies, one being Champs Lge qualification. 'A new player doesn't want to know if you've won lge cup'

Arsene says there are 5 trophies: 1 Premiership 2 CL 3 CL qualification 4 FA Cup 5 League Cup

#afc Wenger said: 'I'm sure we can count on you (fans) for rest of season. If at end of season, you're not happy then I'm happy to meet you'

Wenger has just shown supporters due respect. Top man. Hill-Wood makes another snide remark. What a contrast. Totally unacceptable. #afc

@DarrenArsenal1 tells PHW not to be so patronising to the shareholders

#afc PHW said: 'I think we've had enough questions, if you don't mind. Otherwise we'll be here all day.' Jeez.

#afc Fan says it's same old story each year but more votes against board each year before questioning age and gender of board.

PHW said: "thanks for your support and your interest in our affairs." That sentence shows why PHW must go ASAP. Out of touch, disrespectful

PHW clearly think #afc is his private members' club and the fans are an unnecessary inconvenience. Shocking. #afc AGM over

Wenger and Gazidis both engaging with fans/shareholders after the #afc #agm Great to see.

[TF S4DK]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-agm-live-blog-rewind-1398611

[TF S4DK]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/sports-breakfast/121025/scott-schalke-loss-was-arsenals-worst-performance-under-wenger-183788

[gattsu]

pmsl

[TF S4DK]

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has been appointed to two influential posts at the top of the game in Europe.

He has been named by the European Club Association (ECA) as their representative on UEFA’s primary policy-making body – the UEFA Professional Strategy Council. Consequently, Gazidis will also take up a seat on the ECA Executive Board. The ECA represents the interests of Europe’s top 207 teams. This includes 10 Premier League sides.

This appointment follows the decision of Manchester united CEO David Gill to step down from his position on the ECA Executive Board.

Commenting on the appointment of Gazidis, ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: “I am pleased to welcome Ivan Gazidis on the ECA Executive Board. His experience and distinct football knowledge will add a lot of value to ECA and European club football as a whole.”

Gazidis said: “I am delighted to be joining these important groups which are hugely influential in the future direction of the game in Europe. I am looking forward to representing the top European clubs in many important debates as we move ahead.”

These latest appointments are in addition to Gazidis’ role on the FA’s Professional Game Board (PGB), the FA Council and his membership of FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber. He continues as the chairman of the ECA’s Legal Advisory Panel and as a member of the Premier League Working Group for Elite Player Performance.

[Seth Rollins]

So now what? Will we start getting Fergie time and do better in the Champions League?

[TF S4DK]

 

 

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has grand plans for his club which he discusses in this wide ranging Q&A.

 

MirrorFootball writer John Cross was there to hear Gazidis talk transfers, Arsene Wenger's future, competing with Bayern Munich and winning trophies.

 

Even the ones that got away like Juan Mata, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. Changing the wage structure, can Arsenal afford Wayne Rooney and will Wenger get a new contract even if he does not win a trophy next season.

 

Here, kicking off with Gazidis's review of the season just gone, is the full version of his Q&A which he did in the Arsenal boardroom on Wednesday afternoon.

 

 

Ivan Gazidis:

"So obviously we have come to the end of the season and in the end we finished with 73 points and in fourth place which I would say was necessary for us. We want to be competing at the top of the game and in order to do that you have to be in the Champions League. So we are pleased to qualified, or at least, for the qualification games. But it is not ultimately where we want to be with moving the club forward. We want to be a club that is competing at the very top end of the game and that means competing to win the Premier League and competing to win the Champions League. On that basis, we are not where we want to be yet. I think its not idle ambition when we talk about wanting to get there. I think we have a very solid plan that will give us the ability to be able to compete at that level provided we do things well. We have spoken about it many, many times before - and I think you are all aware of it - the stadium move has meant we have tied in a lot of our commercial deals to it which has put us behind the game.

 

"The critical thing now as we look ahead over the next season and the season after is our developing financial capability which will give us a lot more options than in recent years. We think we have got a fantastic manager who has seen us through moving to a new stadium, which is for many clubs a difficult period, with consistency and so we think we have got the right person to make the kinds of choices and decisions that we are going to have over this really significant period of the club's development. So we are feeling very optimistic. It is interesting where we are at the moment in the summer.

 

"I'm not going to talk about individual players at all today. I don't want to get into the whole speculation around the transfer market but generally, what I'll say is that it has been quite a slow start and I think that's because there was such a managerial musical chairs going on that everybody is waiting for that to settle down. I think clubs are, agents are and players are. Which means it has been quite an unusual beginning to the transfer window. I imagine once most of the managerial appointments settle in a little bit, we will see that starting to pick up. But that's a general overview of where we are. The club is on a good path. We have been through a difficult and in some ways disappointing season which ended satisfactorily. But we are not crowing about that. We are looking ahead and to how we can push forward."

 

 

Q: Where are you at in terms of contract talks with Arsene?

IG: "What I really don't want to do is have a public discussion about Arsene's contractual position. That would be a daily, weekly fixture on the public coverage if you start getting into that. What I will say is that we think we have got a fantastic manager. We hope that he wants to do what he is doing for the long term. I believe he does. I think he is still ambitious, still driven and sees the potential of the club as he looks forward and I think he is very excited by that. We have a great relationship and he has a great relationship with the board as well. So, quietly and at the right time I think we will make an announcement on that when things are all put in place."

 

 

Q: Have you made him an offer yet?

IG: "I don't want to get into that level because then it'll be: 'you've made him an offer' then the next question will be 'well, what did he say?' and so on. This is going to happen very quietly behind closed doors, privately and then there will be an announcement."

 

 

Q: Can you tell us whether you have you even discussed it yet?

IG: "I don't even want to say that. We have got a lot of confidence in Arsene that he is the right person to take the club forward and I think he will want to do that."

 

Q: Will any uncertainty over the manager's long term future affect the club's ability to attract players?

IG: "I think players that are concerned about uncertainty probably think about Arsenal as the most certain place they could be in the world of football. This is a club that has had remarkable consistency in terms of its manager, its football philosophy, its direction and the consistent support from the board and our principal owner for our manager is pretty much unmatched, through some difficult periods as well. So if its consistency players are looking for, I think Arsenal would be a very attractive place to come."

 

Q: But it could be a different manager?

IG: "If you are asking me, is that an issue with players, the answer is 'no.' Its far more an issue with players signing at other clubs than it is at Arsenal. If players have that on their issue list, I think that's a mark in our favour, not against us."

 

 

Q: Out of the top four clubs, you are the only ones who have been stable with the manager. Why not take advantage and move quickly for players now?

IG: "It doesn't only require our decision, it require player decision and other clubs' decisions, so there is a market that has to move not just dependant on one party, but dependant on a number of parties and many of those parties have been in a period of uncertainty. As those situations begin to play themselves out clubs get themselves into a position where they can start to make decisions. But I think that has been generally for the market, I wouldn't specifically say just us. Some of the seasons are just coming to an end. The Spanish season has just ended, the German season went on. So we are not exactly deep into it at this point."

 

 

Q: We've spoken many times, and you are more often than not very upbeat. This is the first time I've seen you so realistic, possibly even pessimistic, in your summary of the season?

IG: "Look as a chief executive it is always an interesting position because you are, on the one hand, it is imperative you are realistic and ambitious about where you want to go but also realistic about what you need to do to get there. At the same time you are also a cheerleader for the club. So walking that line and getting the right tone is sometimes challenging. Look at the end of the season we finished on 73 points, that is more than last year and more again than the season before that when we had van Persie, Fabregas and Nasri. I am not going to present that as a step forward for the club, but I do think we have been resilient and consistent through this period. The disappointment is we haven't challenged this season to win a trophy. That is my ambition, that is Stan Kroenke's ambitions, that is the ambition of the board, that is Arsene's ambition and that is the ambition of our players. So we get to the end of the season and we had to have a very strong run, which required a lot of strength within the club to achieve - and there is certainly a feeling of relief at having achieved that goal. But the is not really the goal we want to be aiming for at the end of the season.

 

"The critical thing about that is to work out how we don't have to go through all of that again and we can go through next season and put ourselves in a position where we are really competing for major trophies towards the end of the season. And that is going to require forward progression. I think everybody realises that. There has been a long-term plan in place at this club. You are probably all sick of hearing me talk about it. The plan is incredibly ambitious and we are ahead of that plan in terms of what we are achieving off the field. The key is to translate all of that now onto the field because of course you have a chicken and egg here and you need the financial platform in order to create the sporting success but you need the sporting success in order to supply the financial platform as well. I think we have done a terrific job creating the financial platform. The club can take a lot of credit from that. But it really is time now for us to turn that into sporting success and that is what everybody here is focused on. It is how we make the right decisions to push ourselves forward on the field. I know Arsene is focused on that and we are together in that.

 

"This is not some veiled message about this is what we need to do otherwise something will happen. That is what we are all focusing on. We think we have got the right personnel to do that, we have got a good platform on which to build. The key to this summer is going to be making the right decisions without damaging the great team unity and spirit which we have - adding to that appropriately and I think we have the right person to do that in Arsene. I think he will make the right decisions and I think we will go into this next season with a lot of excitement around the team. We are not going to go through what we have gone through the last couple of summers with a major departure we are having to wrestle with. If there are any players to leave the squad those will be Arsenal's decisions and Arsene's decisions. So certainly we will take a step forward this summer, how bigger step will depend on how well we are able to execute over the next month or two."

 

 

Q: But you are now - for the first time - operating in a different financial playing field?

"We have got fantastic support from Emirates through the new deal we've done with them. We're very confident with the new deals we've got coming through, although we can't talk about that in any detail. That's showing really positive progression. We should be able to compete at a level like a club such as Bayern Munich. I'm not saying we are there by any means, we have a way to go before we can put ourselves on that level. But this whole journey over the past ten years really has been with that goal in mind which is why I say that this is an extraordinarily ambitious club. We get beaten up along the way but I think we are an extraordinarily ambitious club. This has been about putting us up with the best in the world and now the question is turning that platform now into on-field success.

 

 

Q: What do you think fans want to see?

IG: "I think fans want to see a real form of progression. I think they want to see good players being added to the team. But I think it's important that whatever happens in the summer that it is only relevant when we start playing in August if the team is better and is performing better. Obviously always want to see big name players and sometimes they can be the critical ingredient but sometimes the critical ingredients are a little bit more complex than just that as well. There are lot of ways in which on field performance can be developed and it's not actually all about making new signings. There's lot of different areas that we're looking into and looking at and making progress in. But certainly getting the right players to add to what is a solid foundation is what is going to be most visible to people and we certainly have the capability to do that."

 

 

Q: It's very clear that fans want big names, big players, will you be signing them?

IG: If Arsene thinks that's the right thing to do, yes.

 

 

Q: But can you really do it? Every year we hear this but you don't pay a certain wage?

IG: "I think that's a little unfair to say that every year you hear this. I know what my messaging has been every year and I've been very careful about it. The fact is this year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for for some time, which is the escalation in our financial firepower. And that's going to happen partly into next season - it's part way available now in the summer but the following season as well. It's a progression over the next two seasons. It's quite significant for the club."

 

 

Q: What does it mean? Can you spend more on transfers, you can have a higher top wage?

IG: "I think it means both of those things. I think it means we can look at some options that weren't really in our financial capability."

 

 

Q: How close does it take you to the big-shot spenders like Manchester City and Chelsea?

IG: "It's difficult to assess that because it's unknown - if you are competing against somebody who has limitless spending, it doesn't take you any closer at all."

 

 

Q: There aren't many who are like that ?

IG: "No, there aren't. My own view is we are moving into a new phase where if we make our decisions well, if we get the right chemistry, and if we do a variety of other things as well, not just the new players that come in but the right kind of things on the football side, that we can compete with any club in the world. We've seen two clubs this year in the CL final - both of whom run responsible financial models and they're pretty fantastic teams and very exciting to watch. There's no reason why we can't do that."

 

 

Q: You seem to have identified but not actually got a lot of players that you wanted - Juan Mata, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling. Are you saying you can get them now?

IG: "I hesitate to get into individual discussions. I also think there is a tremendous focus on what we haven't got. I think there should be a little bit more focus on what we have got. I think we have some tremendous players in the squad and some players that we've acquired recently that other clubs would love to have. You don't have the kind of resilience that we have as a club if you're only making bad decisions and only failing to get the players that you want. I think we deserve a little more credit than we've been given. Having said that, we've got more financial capability and I'm sure that will help us to be able to secure the targets that Arsene wants us to do."

 

 

Q: Is Wenger averse to spending £25m on a single player? Is there an idealogical narrative going on from him here? Doesn't he prefer developing players?

IG: "No. There is no idealogical narrative at stake here. The idealogical narrative is we want to have the best possible players, the best possible team and compete for trophies and Arsene will do what he thinks is right to do that. There is no philosophical line in the sand and I suspect that he would pay £25m for Lionel Messi."

 

 

Q: Is there a recognition from you and Arsene that maybe that needs to be done this summer?

IG: "I think our fans are going to respond to what they see on the field in August. I didn't hear last summer an outcry that we must sign Santi Cazorla, but we knew he was a top-class player who would add to our team and give us something that we needed. There is a short-term narrative that we play through week by week where we will get linked with every name under the sun. People will get excited, disappointed and excited and disappointed again, for every club. In the end the most important thing is that we have the right chemistry, the right talent to be able to excite people once we open the doors in August. That is the most critical thing. That could be players that are big-name players. But it also might not be. It's going to be the players that Arsene believes in. He is pretty blind to price tags. He looks at what he sees with his eyes and makes judgements based on that. And not on reputations and prices."

 

 

Q: In the past, Arsene Wenger has called the wage policy a "socialist wage structure." While we may smile about that in football, is it time for it to change?

IG: "Our biggest expense is our wage bill. It's not something that we simply stumble upon by accident. There is a massive amount of thought that goes into it by some very very smart and thoughtful people at the club including Harvard analysts and Arsene Wenger himself is a pretty smart mathematical guy. I have been doing that myself for 14 years at Major League Soccer, where I was responsible for the management of the player pool within a budget. This is something we think about deeply and we know a lot about. We have outperformed our spend, in virtually any metric you can look at, consistently for the last 15 years. It's an extraordinary record. So we are doing something right in the way that we spend although it may frustrate some people. We are doing something right and we are very thoughtful about it.

 

"It's not something that happens by accident. As we develop new financial capabilities, clearly, that wage bounds will change. It's under review all the time. It's never been fixed in stone. It really depends on what the circumstances are as you move forward, what the market looks like, where you see the opportunities, where you think the value is. That will change and if we - which we do - want to attract and also keep the very best talent then we have to pay them the market rate. There is a complete understanding of that at the club. So yes, our wage structure will evolve, as it has over the last five years. It will continue to evolve with a new financial capability behind it, which means we can do some things perhaps that we haven't been able to do while we have had one hand tied behind our back."

 

 

Q: Can you buy a Martinez like Bayern? Big fee, not astronomical wages? Would you ever buy a player for a big fee who is not on massive wages?

IG: "The assumption behind your question is that there have been rules preventing us from doing that in the past. There haven't been rules. There has been a financial constraint and we had a strategy within those financial parameters which hasn't delivered what we all want, I accept that, but that has been carefully thought through. It doesn't mean that if we had the opportunity to sign somebody we thought was extra special at a price we thought made sense that we wouldn't do it. So when you come back to the socialist wage structure or limit on transfer fees we would pay. These things don't really exist. It really depends on individual circumstances and how much Arsene believes a particular player is the critical piece for us. We're going to be emerging into the new period in our development, a very exciting period, I think, which will mean if we think we can get the right value and a player is really special and Arsene believes in it, we can make some exciting moves and I think our fans will be pleased over the next couple of years to see the club making some progressive steps."

 

 

Q: Let's stop beating around the bush, are you going to sign Wayne Rooney? Could you afford it?

IG: "I would think you've got the ability to put that together. There are restrictions on what I'm able to announce and the numbers I'm allowed to put out with the media before they are known to shareholders."

 

 

Q: But is Rooney a deal in THAT territory?

IG: "I don't know what THAT territory is because I don't know what his transfer fee would be."

 

 

Q: Well, for example, £25million and £200,000 a week?

IG: "Of course we could do that. We could do more than that. We have a certain amount which we've held in reserve. We also have new revenue streams coming on board and all of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you. What excites Arsene isn't necessarily what excites you. We can think about all kinds of things. The important thing for us as a club, and it may frustrate everybody but we don't think about what's going to excite our fans for the next couple of weeks, we think about what's going to excite them when we start playing in August and hopefully when we're in March and April and competing. That's what we're focusing on. For Arsene, it's a question of getting the right players, the ones he believes in, not necessarily the players the fans want. He's very disciplined about his beliefs and how he wants to structure a team. And he's done a fantastic job at that over a long period. He has new tools available to him financially and I think he'll make good use of them."

 

 

Q: Can you compete with the three clubs who finished above you, three new managers bringing in big players?          

IG: "Can we compete? Yes we can. This year we were five points behind Manchester City and two or three points behind Chelsea."

 

 

Q: What about financially?

IG: "I can't compete with somebody who has an unlimited budget. I don't know what their budgets are. If you are telling me they have unlimited budgets, no I can't compete because I double my bid and they will double it again. There are new rules in the Premier League and we will see how those are enforced. There is a wage cap, for example, so teams are not allowed to spend more than they did last year in wages from the new TV money unless they have commercial revenue, as we do, coming in from other sources. I'm not quite so sure it is going to be a free-spending bonanza that you are envisaging with the question.

 

"Teams will have to live within those constraints. I can't foresee exactly what the transfer window will be. What I can tell you is that I believe that we will have a team next season that is more capable than the team we have had this season for a couple of reasons. One, some of our younger players will develop and get better. I think we saw that even in the course of the season. We had a team with a number of new players who had to fit in and learn the English game. I think they will be hitting the ground running and there will be new additions over the summer. I think those three things make me confident that we will have a squad that is more capable of competing."

             

 

Q: You talked about the boffins who drew up the wage policy...?

IG: "They don't draw up the wage policy - that is not what I said. We are not advised. Arsene and I have a huge amount of experience in this area. Arsene is the guy that decides the talent that we want to have. We also have people who do analystics, at our direction, to help us to think about that."

 

 

Q: But on the back of a fag packet, if you ask a fan, do you want to pay Squillaci, Chamakh and Djourou 60k a week or pay 180k on a stellar signing, they'd say pay someone 180k a week. Why don't you do that?

"I'm not going to get into an individual debate on individual players. I'll come back to what I told you before..."

 

 

Q: But there are players nowhere near the first team on 60k a week?

IG: "Ok...there's an awful lot of hypotheticals you can come up with with every club about wouldn't you rather have this guy, who turned out to be a bargain, rather than these three guys who turned out not to be a bargain and cost just as much. You can go through every single club and find your examples of that. The way to assess whether a club is doing it well or not? I don't know any other measure to see whether a club does that well or does it poorly, than to look at their overall spending and compare it against their performance and when we do that with Arsenal, every single year, we outperform our spend.

 

"It's very possible to do it for a couple of years, either because you spend money a certain way or because you are lucky, it is extraordinary difficult to do that consistently over time. It doesn't happen by accident. We get criticised a lot because we are perceived as somehow foolish with some of our choices, or not ambitious with some of our choices. I don't think that is fair criticism. I think we do this, not as well as we can, we need to improve, every club needs to improve, but I think on any objective measure we do this well."

 

 

Q: So imagine how you would do if you spent more money?

IG: "That's exactly right, I totally agree. Thats why I'm excited as I look forward because our capability to spend is going up and our efficiency of spend has always been good and I don't think that is going to fall away over the next couple of years. We have got a proven record. So what you will see is certainly an Arsenal team that is getting better over the next couple of years unless we make big mistakes but historically we have got a manager who has got a proven of doing this extremely well over a long period of time. And his financial capability will be better. Do I think that Arsene will always be somebody who gives chances to young players? Yes I do. Do I think he'll always be out on the training ground, developing talent? Yes I do. But do I think that means he can't appreciate world class established talent and make bold decisions? I don't think the two are mutually exclusive."

 

 

Q: What do you think will happen at Manchester United, post Fergie? Will they be as much of a threat?

IG: "Who knows? Manchester United are a fantastic club. Anybody who thinks they're going to take a dip is making some optimistic assumptions. We're assuming everybody will be more competitive next year and we have to be more competitive. We're a very transparent club. Our accounts are there, and if you've got the right skills you can get to the bottom of them."

 

 

Q: Can you be certain that none of your good players will leave this summer?

IG: "Quietly we did a good job during the season of tying down most of out important players to long-term contracts. We're in a very strong contractual position, not just for this summer, but looking forward. We've got a lot of players locked into contracts, which is why we've got a very strong, robust foundation going forward. The critical thing for us is making the right decisions in terms of additions."

 

 

Q: Will Sagna go?

IG: "I don't want to comment on any individual player."

 

 

Can you confirm there is a buy back option on Fabregas? Would that interest you?

IG: "I'm not going to comment on any individuals. I don't want to comment on it. I just don't want to comment on individual players and targets and speculation as to whom we might be interested in and so on. It's not where I wanna go."

 

 

Q: There must be a need to get the right players in now?

IG: "We've got an important opportunity. We've got the right guy in charge to make those decisions, but you can never guarantee things will work out the way you want in football."

 

 

Q: Can you win the league next season?

IG: "We need to make improvements for me to be able to see that, so I'll have a fairer idea once we get through the summer, but yes I do. That's what our ambition is, what our goal is, and what the whole thing is about."

 

 

Q: Your message about Arsene's continuity has been very clear. Will his long term future at the club be dependent on whether you go through another season like this? And if it ends up trophy-less the fact that Arsene represents the philosophy and approach and he embodies that, will that prove more important than the fans' frustration about a ninth year without a trophy?

IG: "I don't want to talk about hypotheticals in the next season. We're focusing right now on what we have to do to move forward into next season. I'm very optimistic about it, we've got the right man at the helm. That's where we are at the moment and looking forward to being able to put together something that will make our fans excited optimistic and most importantly it will have us in competition to win something next year."

 

[mp*]

Should run for PM

[Heero Yuy]

And not one question was answered that day

[Captain Planet]

Bit what do u expect him to say?

Very encpiraging interview imo

[TF S4DK]

Chief executive Ivan Gazidis says Arsenal were in a no-win situation with Robin van Persie last summer but insists his sale to Manchester United was not purely financially motivated.

 

Arsenal have failed to keep hold of their best players in recent seasons and the club were fiercely criticised for allowing Van Persie to move to Old Trafford in a £24million deal last August.

 

But with the Dutchman refusing to sign a new contract at the Emirates, Arsenal’s only other option was to let him play out the final year of his deal and eventually leave for free.

 

Gazidis admits it was a major dilemma for the club but insists the decision was made in the interests of the team.

 

“It was one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make,” Gazidis said at an Arsenal Supporter’s Trust meeting last night.

 

“I understand the people that say we should have let his contract run down and I accept that what happened is difficult to agree with.

 

“Our motivation was not to pocket £24m, it was a decision about how best to develop our team’s potential with the choices that we had- all of which were bad.

 

“It hurts me to see him score goals and win the league with Manchester United, of course I don’t feel happy or good about myself seeing that.”

 

“Retaining players in the current environment has been one of our biggest challenges,” he continued.

 

“I don’t want to say it would have been impossible to keep him for the last year of his deal.

 

“I’ve been involved in player contracts for over 20 years and I’ve seen that work and I’ve seen it not work.

 

“So I don’t want to lie and say it would have been impossible. But none of our choices with Robin were good ones.”

 

When quizzed as to why Arsenal couldn’t offer Van Persie a bumper deal to stay at the Emirates, Gazidis claimed that the 29-year-old was not motivated by money.

 

“Financial incentives are not always the issue,” he said. “Robin van Persie is a guy who always gave his best, both for Arsenal and now for Manchester United.

 

“Financial incentives weren’t all that were important to him.”

 

 

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis admitted on Monday that the club have stagnated in recent seasons, but claimed Arsene Wenger now has the spending power to end their eight-year trophy drought.

 

Wenger has a minimum £70million transfer kitty to splash on improving his squad, with Stevan Jovetic, Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain and Marouane Fellaini – who would all cost in excess of £20million –  on the club’s shortlist.

However, the Arsenal’s restricted pay structure has raised significant doubts over Wenger’s ability to persuade the world’s most sought-after talent into joining the Gunners next season.

 

Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski currently top Arsenal’s wage bill on around £100,000-per-week – but a similar financial package is unlikely to be enough to attract Wenger’s top targets.

 

But, speaking at an Arsenal Supporters Trust meeting last night, Gazidis insisted Arsenal can now offer more lucrative wages whilst also claiming failure to make it through to the Champions League group stages will not have an impact on their summer spending.

 

In revealing the club’s pay structure will ‘evolve’, Gazidis said: ‘The manager is not scared to spend money but he has to believe they are top-class players who will add to the squad.

‘Can I guarantee he will spend all of that money? It depends on the talent. The key is having players Arsene believes in, adding them to the squad and making sure he has a cohesive squad he believes in.

 

‘I accept we haven't done that over the last few years. We have essentially been very consistent – we haven't slipped backwards and we haven't gone forwards. We need to go forwards.

 

‘It is not enough to be watching a video of a last-minute scramble to get over the line into fourth place. No-one at this club wants that.’