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Arsenal: Ivan Gazidis safety net proves how backwards it all is
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal’s irrelevant CEO Ivan Gazidis has a safety net protecting him from an exit. The money being wasted here is just proof of insolence.
There have always been claims of Arsenal being a bit crooked where the higher ups are concerned. Claims that Stan Kroenke, the board, Ivan Gazidis and even Arsene Wenger are all benefiting from not winning. That they are all doing this for the cushy check they get at the end of the day.
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While I don’t think that Wenger is in it solely for the money, it’s becoming literally impossible to say anything similar about the rest of the ‘brain trust’ here at the club. Everyone knows that Kroenke is in it for the money. If he didn’t buy the club to win trophies, then what did he buy it for?
Money.
And the board? Hard to defend them. They openly bark about how the Gunners will not modernize their wage structure. They will keep paying their stars the same amount and won’t kow-tow to their contract demands.
Now we find out (via the Daily Mail) that Ivan Gazidis is so financially protected that there is literally zero pressure on him to do anything at all. He might as well not even be there.
Which he really isn’t. Wenger has had complete control, making Gazidis nothing more than another face to make supporters angry. Since taking over, Gazidis (reminder: He does nothing) has received over £20m for doing such a great job.
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That is money that could go towards locking down Alexis Sanchez.
The financial protection that I alluded to is in the form of a safety fund, should Gazidis be fired, or even if he voluntarily leaves following a change in ownership.
That’s right, if Gazidis quits Arsenal following a change in ownership, he gets a sturdy £5.5m, which equates to three years salary plus his annual bonus (yup, he gets a bonus).
What exactly is all of this for? Gazidis is raking in wheelbarrows of money and everyone knows he doesn’t do anything. And if he gets fired or quits he gets eve more money. How does it make you feel knowing that even when Gazidis is gone, he will still be receiving some hefty wages from the club?
It makes me feel stupid. Like we are all being used by a bunch of money-hungry mongrels who are taking advantage of our historic and beloved club.
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Gazidis made some cute remarks about the club needing change and it sounded like he was trying to put the pressure on Wenger, but what will that actually do? Correct answer: Probably nothing.