EASY DOES IT
Arsenal can’t splash cash, insists Gazidis
ARSENAL chief executive Ivan Gazidis insists the club will not go crazy in the summer transfer market despite posting half-yearly pre- tax profits of £ 49.5million yesterday.
Of that, £46.1m was a result of player trading, including the sales of Cesc Fabregas for around £30m, Samir Nasri for £24m and Gael Clichy for £7m.
Sportsmail revealed last week that manager Arsene Wenger will have a transfer budget of around £55m to reshape his Arsenal squad in the summer, though he will be expected to sell fringe players.
Germany’s Mario Gotze (below) and Lukas Podolski are high on Wenger’s wanted list, while he may also move for Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge and Anderlecht forward Matias Suarez. But Gazidis said the club would still keep a watch on their spending. He said: ‘ The most important thing is how we do on the pitch.
‘We have a healthy cash balance of £115m but not all that is available to invest in transfers. We have running costs, player salaries and so on. We also have to keep some in reserve in case things don’t go our way.
‘There is money available, we don’t talk about an exact figure because it would impact on our negotiating position. We do spend all of the money we generate. We do invest it in the squad.’
Whether or not Arsenal qualify for next season’s Champions League will be key to Wenger’s spending strategy.
Not only will the Frenchman find it harder to attract top players without the lure of the Champions League, but his budget could also take a hit. Gazidis, however, insists the club will still be in a position to compete for Europe’s top players.
‘We can’t gear our entire financial model around that expectation ( Champions League qualification) because that would place the club in jeopardy if we didn’t qualify,’ he said.
The club announced their huge profits for the six months until the end of November less than 24 hours after their 5-2 win over north London rivals Tottenham, and keeper Wojciech Szczesny feels Sunday’s win — when they hit back from 2-0 down — was on a par with last season’s Champions League victory over Barcelona.
‘It is a great feeling, probably one of the best I have had,’ he said. ‘ Every goal felt better than the previous one. It is the first time I have beaten Spurs and it is just great. It shows what we can do when we are on the front foot.’