Bulging bank balance adds to the pressure on Arsenal
‘Splash the cash’
LONDON, Feb 26, (RTRS): With £120 million sloshing around in the club’s bank accounts, the pressure on prudent Arsenal to start splashing the cash will intensify again when what looks like another trophyless season ends in May.
If silverware was handed out by accountants and economists the north London club would have cleaned up in recent seasons, such has been their reluctance to spend big money to sign the world’s top names.
On the surface it has been a policy endorsed by long-serving manager Arsene Wenger, a man with a degree in economics and with a passion for adding value to lesser-known players rather than paying for ready-made models off the shelf.
He has often criticised the spending habits of other sides in the Premier League and with UEFA’s financial fair play rules coming into force, Arsenal will be wellplaced when the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City rein in their budgets.
Yet, as has been proven by a non-existent Premier League title challenge, two humiliating exits to lower division opponents in the domestic cups and a first-leg humbling by Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League, there is a fair amount of catching up to do.
Arsenal are even being left in the shade by north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who have managed to muscle their way into the Premier League top four without risking the club’s financial future.
The cash conveyor belt provided by the Champions League is therefore by no means a certainty next season for fifthplaced Arsenal.
The Gunners have reached the knockout stage of the Champions League for 13 consecutive seasons under Wenger’s astute management, a fine achievement considering that run spanned a move to the 60,000seater Emirates Stadium which, thanks to