Features
Feature: Window of opportunity awaits Arsenal
By Jason Hogan
Jun 8, 2003, 1:10pm

I think that it would be more than fair to say that this summer is going to be a highly interesting one for everyone connected with Arsenal Football Club.

Slowly but surely, the smoke is starting to clear in the aftermath of the season that has just gone and now speculation is rife as to who will be coming in to what club next season.

As usual, the press are peddling their usual brand of negative publicity where the Gunners are concerned. Having been thwarted in their attempts to write some sort of sensationalist, dissenting piece on Thierry Henry who signed a new contract prior to the cup final, they have switched their focus back to Arsene Wenger.

Iím sure that Wenger is probably flattered in a funny sort of way by the amount of press coverage that has built up over the last week or so just because he was allegedly seen in and around a hotel in Paris. You would have thought he was on Interpolís most wanted list the way the press have carried on.

Letís get one thing straight though; everything that has been written in the press over here is pure hearsay and lacks credibility. After all, the press are working with second hand maybe third hand information. Whatís more, can any Arsenal fan honestly say with their hand on their hearts that Henry would have just signed a new extension to his contract if Wenger had no intention of seeing out his? Nah, I couldnít either.

Ah, but what about Vieira and Pires I hear you say? Well, you just hope that they are practical enough to realise that it if you are talking purely in football terms, there is not one other club in Europe that can offer them any more than they have here at Highbury.

As we all know Vieira has been constantly linked with Real Madrid just like his manager. Well, even the mighty Real Madrid met their match in Europe this season in the form of Juventus and there are no guarantees that they will win La Liga by way of compensation. If they were to lose out, then they will have only won one of the last four Spanish titles on offer. So, on that basis, you could say that Real Madrid have not been significantly more successful home and abroad than Arsenal have this season.
Meanwhile, Pires has been heavily linked with Valencia. Well, for a start there are no guarantees that they will be in the Champions League at all next year. They are vying with Celta Vigo for fourth spot in La Liga and the last qualifying place and at present, Valencia are having to rely on Celta slipping up. So if Valencia failed to make the Champions League, then it would illogical for Pires to leave a team that is in the Champions League to move to a club that are in the UEFA Cup.

Whatís more, it is no secret that Valencia have serious financial problems of their own right now and missing out on the Champions League will not help in the slightest. So, if Pires is looking for a seriously tidy payday, then the Mestalla will not be the place to find it.

We have also seen tangible proof in recent times that ex-Arsenal players have not found that the grass has been greener once they have left Highbury for Spain.

Marc Overmars is still in Spain with Barcelona but in the three seasons he has been there, he has not won a damn thing so far and he is also faced with the ignominious fact that he is part of a Barcelona squad that has failed to qualify for Europe this season. That hasnít happened in 40 years.

Then we come to our old mate Nicolas Anelka. He left Arsenal to play with the likes of Roberto Carlos, Hierro, Raul and Morientes. Now (via ill fated spells at PSG and Liverpool), Anelka plays his football alongside monstrous talents like Richard Dunne, Danny Tiatto, Sun Jihai and (prior to Fowlerís arrival) Paolo Wanchope and Shaun Goater. Mmm.

And what of Manu Petit? Well, he hardly lasted five minutes in Spain, came back (surprisingly in my view) to the Premiership to play for Chelsea and he hasnít really had a sniff of winning silverware since he left Highbury. Indeed, the word on the street is that Chelsea are looking to offload him in the summer. Even if I say so myself, there is more than enough food for thought there for Messrs Vieira and Pires if not Wenger himself.

The other pet theory being peddled around by the press and the media is that Arsenal have allocated a limited budget of around £10 million to Wenger. My answer to that is ďSays Who?Ē

Everybody knows that Arsenal have a strict policy when it comes to speculation on transfers so they are hardly going to come out and tell the world what they have and have not got to spend.
The truth is that nobody outside of the Marble Halls has a damn clue what we have to spend, yet, even if we do have a limited budget and Wenger has to wheel and deal a little itís never stopped him putting together title winning sides before. Besides, compared to that lot from Old Trafford, every football club in the country has a relatively limited budget.

Iím not naÔve enough to think that the Ashburton Grove project isnít going to hinder us financially but I think that Vieira hit the nail on the head when he recently said that itís no good having a state of the art arena that holds 60,000 people when you donít have a world-class team to play in it.

The directors have so far remained adamant that the Ashburton Grove project will go ahead and I believe, despite the spirally costs, that it is the right course to take. Being £42 million debt is not good but the implications of having that debt will be far more severe if we do not see the project through.

On the pitch, there are a few clubs who can claim that they are actively competing with that lot from Old Trafford but we are the only team that has not only managed to GENUINELY compete with that lot, we are the only team in the last eight years that has proved that they can be beaten as well.

If we are to remain a top two club, we cannot afford to stand still. If we are going to get our title back or even get close to winning the Champions League, the board at Arsenal cannot back off in supporting Wenger and if it means that ruthless decisions have to be made along the way, then letís make them.

For example, Wiltord has been talking about his desire to stay at Highbury for the next four years yet he has apparently baulked at signing a new improved deal that was offered to him. Fine, I say, letís sell him. Bayern are interested in him apparently and though we will not get back the £13 million we paid for him, Iím sure that if Bayern want him bad enough they will shell out £6-7 million. Itís better than nothing, Arsenal fans.

There is also a lot of deadwood that we can get rid of as well (including Wiltord) and some progress is being made in removing some of it. Luzhny has been released on a free and Seaman has also departed as well.


Seamanís departure certainly spells the end of an era and nobody can question his status as an Arsenal legend. Iím just glad that the situation didnít drag on and on. Seaman has got what he wants (first team football and a tidy payday) and now Arsenal can go full steam ahead in their search for a replacement.

Whilst Seaman wasnít quite surplus to requirements, I will be flabbergasted if the likes of Kanu, Stepanovs and Cygan still have any sort shelf life at Highbury.

If we play our cards right, then there is no reason why we cannot pull in around £3 million for that lot even in a depressed market.

So, if my theory is right, we could generate around £10 million in all which then can be reinvested and that isnít too bad given the current climate and I donít really need to tell you all where the main areas of strengthening needs to be done.

The transfer window is now officially open until the end of August. I see this as a window of opportunity for Arsenal. We have scores to settle next season but we are not going to settle them unless we act positively. I just hope that the Arsenal board see things the same way.

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