Arsene Wenger is still refusing to spend big money on strengthening his squad — despite being told he has up to £50million at his disposal.
Wenger: Arsenal board was "crazy" to first appoint me
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Arsenal turnover up to a huge £313m and club makes record profit... but Arsene Wenger won't splash the cash on new players in a hurry
Resources available: Wenger
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood insists results on the pitch will always come ahead of profit at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners' parent holding company today revealed an increase in turnover to £313.3million and a record profit after tax of £35.2m from results for the year ending May 31.
The Highbury Square development, meanwhile, remains robust despite the difficult financial climate and falling house prices, with the completion of 208 private apartments at the club's former ground bringing in £88m.
Most of Arsenal's overall net debt, which has decreased to £297.7m from £318m, is tied into the move to the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium, financed mainly by a long-term loan which is repaid at a fixed rate, much like a mortgage, at around £20m a year.
As such, Arsene Wenger's men are clearly under some pressure to continue to produce on the field - with Champions League qualification now arguably a prerequisite each season.
Wenger has, though, so far refused to spend heavily on new players, instead placing faith in youth and re-signing key men like captain Cesc Fabregas, England forward Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie, last season's leading scorer, on long-term deals.
Nevertheless, despite relative progress with a Champions League final appearance in 2006, Arsenal have failed to deliver a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.
Life-long Gunners fan Hill-Wood knows all too well the importance of consistency on the pitch, which ultimately drives all other parts of the business.
'The group's profits have now risen in each of the three years in which Emirates Stadium has been our home. This is excellent news, although I should perhaps stress that making and reporting profits is not in itself the primary objective for the directors,' Hill-Wood said in his report.
'First and foremost we are supporters of this great football club and, as such, our main goal will always be the achievement of success for Arsenal on the field.
'The group's profitability is important because it is a by-product of running the club as a solvent and successful business, which in turn allows us to maximise the level of investment in the playing staff and in the future development of the club.'
Hill-Wood added: 'Arsene has the resources to bring more players in, if he believes doing so will add to the quality which we already have in the squad.'
Much has been made of whether Arsenal should accept being bankrolled by outside investment, as all of their top-four rivals, which now include cash-rich Manchester City, have done.
Indeed, City raided the Emirates Stadium for both striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure this summer, while Wenger opted to bring in just Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax for £10m, leaving him with a healthy surplus.
Earlier this year, the Arsenal board decided against a proposed rights issue to generate new cash which was put forward and underwritten by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, the second biggest stakeholder in the Barclays Premier League club.
One and only: Thomas Vermaelen (left) was Arsenal's only major summer signing
Usmanov - whose Red & White Holdings group have a stake of around 25 per cent - had argued the scheme would help to reduce both the long-term debt and also hand Wenger extra transfer funds.
Arsenal also have Stan Kroenke as a non-executive director. The American entrepreneur is now the club's largest individual shareholder, but just short of the 30 per cent threshold which would, under City rules, trigger an automatic formal takeover bid.
Hill-Wood felt a new rights issue just to help buy players would be 'at odds with our ethos'. The Arsenal chairman said: 'In the final analysis I believe it distils down to a decision about whether it is appropriate to raise money from shareholders to purchase the registrations and pay the wages of footballers.
'This is not something that Arsenal has ever done previously in its history and it would be at odds with our ethos of running the club as a business which is self-sustaining and pays its own way in the world.'
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wenger saving money for who?
his retirement fund?
even if he save 1 billion for arsenal, he's not gonna get it after he leave the club leh
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woah, damn rich sial!
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the stadium costs still haven repaid
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Arsenal chairman Hill-Wood: Transfer cash available to Wenger
After announcing record profits this morning, Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood says manager Arsene Wenger has cash available to add to his squad.
He said: "The group's profitability is important because it is a by-product of running the club as a solvent and successful business, which in turn allows us to maximise the level of investment in the playing staff and in the future development of the club."
Hill-Wood added: "Arsene has the resources to bring more players in, if he believes doing so will add to the quality which we already have in the squad."
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There's no need to spend our £50m windfall, reveals Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger is still refusing to spend big money on strengthening his squad — despite being told he has up to £50million at his disposal.
The Arsenal manager last night risked infuriating a huge section of fans who want him to loosen the purse strings as his club announced a record profit of £35.2m after tax.
Chief executive Ivan Gazidis made it clear Wenger can have some of the £41m generated by the sales of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure and also has the board’s blessing for a January transfer window raid.
But Wenger, who becomes Arsenal’s longest-serving manager on Thursday, remained adamant yesterday that there are no players available who can improve his squad.
‘I have nothing against spending money,’ he said. ‘People want me to buy strikers, but where do I put them? I don’t know. I have to then lose players who, for me, are world
class. It is not a personal thing; it is just that I have a squad that is strong enough to compete.‘We have worked with the young players and I am at a stage where they are now coming out — Abou Diaby, Denilson, Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela, Aaron Ramsey.
‘I have so many players and, if I buy now in front of them, I will not find better players. I will not have a better team.’
Arsenal’s results for the year ending May 31 showed group turnover had risen from £223m to £313.3m, and matchday revenue from the Emirates Stadium has risen above £100m.
Gazidis said: ‘We obviously realised money on the sales of Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure and that money, together with the great financials that we’ve had, are available for investment.
‘We’re fortunate we have a manager who spends only when he believes he can add
something of significance to our squad, and we think he’s proved that with Andrey Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen.’Wenger added: ‘I have always worked in clubs who make money, and I would not feel that I was doingmy job well if we lost money at the end of the season.’
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Wenger: Arsenal board was crazy to first appoint me
Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal's board was "crazy" to first appoint him as manager.
"At that time, what Arsenal did, you needed to be a little bit crazy," said Wenger, reflecting on his 13 years in charge. "Crazy in the sense that I had no name, I was foreign, there was no history. They needed to be, maybe not crazy, but brave.
"Today when every foreign manager comes in, it is a red carpet. It was not like that when I arrived. There was a history and belief in England that an overseas manager could not be successful.
"Now, when a manager from a different country can manage England, that is difficult to put into context today."
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Originally posted by limpper:
Wenger: Arsenal board was crazy to first appoint me
Arsene Wenger admits Arsenal's board was "crazy" to first appoint him as manager.
"At that time, what Arsenal did, you needed to be a little bit crazy," said Wenger, reflecting on his 13 years in charge. "Crazy in the sense that I had no name, I was foreign, there was no history. They needed to be, maybe not crazy, but brave.
"Today when every foreign manager comes in, it is a red carpet. It was not like that when I arrived. There was a history and belief in England that an overseas manager could not be successful.
"Now, when a manager from a different country can manage England, that is difficult to put into context today."
didn't the chairman that employs him got booted??