Tension between Wenger and the board or storm in a teacup?

Moi?
By Eduardo
July 31 2013

As most of you will already know the well-known Gooner Amy Lawrence gave an interview yesterday where she mentioned that there is tension between the Arsenal Board/Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger on the way forward with the transfer policy. The Board/Ivan want big money spent and Arsene does not want to go this route, seems to be the gist of it, or at least is what Arsenal Blog World has taken from it. Oddly enough both sides of the divide, the Wenger Out Brigade and the Arsene Knows Brigade, both somehow claiming that this is proof that their views are right.

On the strength of her comments we have some Arsenal blogs and fan groups promoting a total boycotting of AFC merchandise and the rumours of a protest march at the Emirates Cup this weekend are gathering apace.

A Storm in a Tea Cup

From what I'm told by my AFC source its all a storm in a tea cup, the main bone of contention is what to do to get the Luis Suarez deal done. The Board feel that we must get the deal done, even if it means paying over the odds at £50M, Ivan knows that if we fail to complete this deal he is the one that will get the vast majority of blame from the Arsenal Fan Base, Wenger will somehow escape the brunt of the blame. Wenger being Wenger means he is far more pragmatic about the whole deal, and is willing to play the deal out even if it means going right to the end of the transfer window to get his man.

The Suarez Clause

There is much confusion over the release clause in Suarez's contract but the latest legal advice suggests that the only dubious phrase in the wording of the clause is that the set fee applies only for CL clubs so Wenger wants to sit tight at £40M+£1 as he believes that this will get him in the end, it might mean waiting till Arsenal get in CL proper, but seeing as the striker is suspended for the start of the season its not seen by Arsene as a problem.

Everything in Place

With the new sponsorship deals and other income streams now falling in place everything is in place for Arsenal to go to the next level, but still under the self-sustainability model. The board have sanctioned the changes of our wage structure - in fact this started big time last year, the getting rid of the deadwood, the unwanted youth and the changes in the new contracts awarded to the likes of Jack, AOC, Rambo etc which took out the parity clauses, has almost totally restructured the wages scheme and now means the club can as stated by Wenger and Gazidis pay the like of Rooney's wages. Of course they do not have unlimited funds and there are limits to what can be paid and how much can be spent overall. But Arsenal are in a position to spend way more than ever before. Gazidis wants a couple of stellar signings made to showcase our new position. He wants the flack he has taken, and still takes, to finally end.

There is Tension

There is a little tension between Gazidis and Wenger once again over Arsene's backtracking on targets, at the start of the season Wenger for once gave Ivan A, B, C, options for several positions and in some cases very big bids were made, but as the summer has worn on Wenger is sticking more to his A wish list, and even once again talking about going to the wire of the transfer window for his top targets even if it means this might mean not even getting the B or C option because its too late in the window or these options are gone.

For me I sort of agree with Wenger on this issue, why buy your second or third option if you believe you can get your first choice – why sign Hiquain if you can get Suarez, why sign Fellaini if you can get Cesc.

What about the squad fillers
I hear many ask “but what about the squad additions, why are they not being done”, well its simple really the Suarez and Cesc situations are the main problem, Wenger wants both, they are A listers, until these are either signed or are completely ruled out other(B or C list) striker and midfield moves are not being made, and in turn until we know how much of our budget is to be spent on our top priority targets we do not know what level of squad additions we can afford. Now don't get me wrong, moves are still being worked on for squad fillers, and we have gone a long way with some targets, and I still expect a 2+2 signing spree to happen, two really top level first choice players and two experienced players who are of the next level, ready to fight for their place in the team but not signed as first choice starters.

Keep Calm

It was pointed out to me recently on Arsenal Times that I seemed very calm about our transfer dealings this summer. Thinking about it, this is a correct assessment, due to the info given to me about the sort of players on our list of targets and the willingness of the Board to not only break our transfer record but to smash it several times over, combined with the continuation of getting rid of unwanted players and the new contract situations that has evolved in recent years I am confident that we are taking big steps in the right direction, which will include a couple of top level arrivals.

I am still concerned at the level of power Wenger has and I do not like how on his say so we are risking so much on getting the top targets, because if we don't it might be too late to get the quality we need. The big thing for me is that Wenger should not be given a new contract till the squad additions are done, and if we do not sign a couple of top stars then he should not get the new deal at all. But in saying that I do not like the idea of going into the season with our manager having only one year left on his contract, it’s a situation that has not worked well for other clubs in the past, players are inclined to not put in full effort if any uncertainty surrounds the managers future.