http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20798711 - Read the full story Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the club's second-largest shareholder, has claimed Wenger does not have enough backing and criticised the sale of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. But Wenger said: "I believe I have always had the support from the board, and am very grateful for that." Wenger coming to the defence of the board after Alisher Usmanov attacks them for not appropriately supporting him. It looks like Usmanov is using any negative thing to attack Stan and the rest. Looks like he desperately wants to take over....
Not sure how differently Wenger could have answered that question. No need to create more upheaval around the club. The media will love it but it does not help us.
The media are spinning all they can about us at the moment. Arsene knows how to handle (and seriously p*** them off) them just fine. As you say - Arsenal need to present a united front at all times at the moment
Me neither. If he does'nt though it'll be down to him - not our financial situation.. The board have made it abundantly clear there is money available.
Im pretty sure he'll buy, just not convinced it will be any of the big names we've been talking about
I don't think he will sign a big name in January, because I can't see who he is going to drop. I can see him signing a really good prospect to replace Arteta next year, and possibly a full back backup.
January buys are often desperate and the players will always need time to fit in. Wenger is in a difficult position - does he have a wish list that, if unfulfilled, will look like he is geing tight with the money and then open to criticism from some quarters about his policy. Or he buys and his new players take an age to gel with existing players and results suffer more, opening him up to criticism from other quarters. I'm glad I don't have to manage the team for the next six months. I guess his £7.5 million salary takes this onerous 'pressure' into account.
For me, this is probably the most poignant quote to come out of this interview. Whilst it might seem obvious, there were some who chose to base their 'Wenger out' argument on the fact that the board had offered him money, but that he refused to spend it. This statement confirms what a lot of us said all along, that since the move from Highbury, we were not able to compete with the likes of Chelsea, City and Utd because of financial restraints. As for Usmanov, he's just pissing in the wind
Or that the right player for us isn't available, doesn't want to come, won't accept the wages, is prevented by his club, his agent can't negotiate a deal, etc etc . . . Buying players isn't like popping down to the supermarket to pick what you want off the shelves anytime of the year. It's more like making a good wine, you have to wait until the right grape is ready, at the right time, then carefully select it, prepare and develop it, to compliment the all of the other ingredients. It's a complex process. Blimey I went all Swiss Tony there . . .
Arsene Wenger when asked about new signings in August this year; "We have enough [players], that is for sure, but you always want to improve your squad and if we find a top, top, top player we will do it. We are working very, very hard. We have resources available so if it is not happening now it will happen in December. We are active but we do not just want to bring average players in. If we find a special player who can find us a plus we will do it, if not we will not do it." I think we will spend; how much will we spend is the question.
I agree with you there, that quote has been a long time coming. It's obvious that recent pressure has led to the clubs hierachy needing to make it clear that things are going to change soon. Gazidis' admission that the new sponsorship deal's are as big to the club as moving to the Emirates is proof of that. He has also said something similar to that Wenger quote recently, about the days of financial restrictions at the club being over.
I don't see anyone signing a £40m cheque and because the market has been inflated in recent seasons and even more so because it's January, and that's the kind of money we need to spend to bring in quality players IMO
We have enough players? Wenger always says that. It has become a broken record nowadays. Can't take anything he says seriously no more. Guess we won't sign anyone.
Haha! That wasn't the bit of the quote I was referring too! "We have resources available so if it is not happening now it will happen in December."
He says that because he cant come out and say his current players are not up to it, whether or not they are and whether or not he believes that. Start "dissing" your players in public and you will lose the dressing room. I think he has shown incredible loyalty to his players throughout his time here and, on a number of times has had it shoved back at him.
Of course, you're right. He can't come out and insult his players. But how many times have we seen him make these comments over the past few years? It's same stuff, different season.
I think your misreading the quote. To me it seems he is talking about number of players as opposed to how good they are. He says we have enough players - we do - he has made it clear before we need to ship some players out to make room in the squad. He then goes on to say we won't sign average players but if we can sign someone better than what we have we will. It sounds to me like he is saying exactly what you want to hear. He recognises we have a big squad with some crap but can't just say that, so he says it diplomatically. And the part of the quote which arsenal475 picked out further emphasises his wish to improve our current crop of players. We now have a more clear view of our financial situation and it's clear Wenger has had his hands tied financially and hasn't been able to compete with the big spenders since the move to the Emirates. But all the signs from both the board and manager are that this is finally reaching a pay-off point and we are entering a period where we can afford to bring in some top players. We also have a large chunk of our good players on long term contracts now and it seems the club are setting the foundations to push on back to the top level. It sounds to me like we will try to bring in a new face or two in January if we can get a deal sorted (and the quotes sound to me like Wenger has already got someone in mind or something in the works) and if not i fully expect a busy summer transfer window.
