Arsenal: The problems never seem to end

Arsenal fans have been blaming our lack of money for our club’s downfall for ages, but there are problems that run up the chain of command.

Arsenal have not been overachieving. The club has been incredibly regressive in the way it handles transfer business, coaching, and contracts.

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In the modern game, clubs have pockets. Really deep pockets. So you’d expect Arsenal, a top-four side in the Premier League, to have one of the deepest pockets in Europe. However, it is a well-established fact that they do not actually have a “war chest” hiding somewhere in Stan Kroenke’s cupboard. But they do have one of the largest fanbases in the world, alongside one of, if not the, highest ticket prices in the world.

It is clear that Arsenal have deeper problems that extend past the matter of pitch performance. No matter how much you want to blame it on Arsene Wenger, there is no doubting the ineptitude of Kroenke and his board of directors. The lack of change, the overwhelming stench of mediocrity behind other clubs – it’s almost if they didn’t watch the games.

Is Arsenal a business?

From a fans perspective, it’s very hard to see a silver lining. But from an owner’s, and, subsequently, an investor’s point of view, Arsenal has been a lucrative business. Its self-sustaining business model reinvests what the club has made back into the club, which garners more fans. This makes investing in Arsenal profitable as a form of passive and steadily growing income.

So yes, it has become a business.

What about the players?

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that they have spent almost £274 million in player acquisitions since the start of the 2014/15 season, the most that has been spent in the club’s history.

Are there any players in this current squad that are ‘complete garbage’? Xhaka, Iwobi, Bellerin? These are all players that have been criticised for poor performances recently. But are they ‘garbage’? We know that they have some quality because they have proven it in the past. They have talent. It just frustrates me to see that, while they may be good or okay for the club, their performances for their country far outweigh their domestic displays.

Knowing this, why are the Gunners not competing for a Champions League spot?

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The problem is how they are managed, and how they play as a team.

This is the job of Wenger, in which he gets paid £10 million to do so. His job seems simple but is actually quite difficult- Introduce tactics, assess players’ strengths and weaknesses, motivate the team, take care of their needs. He is a parent, a teacher, and an examiner all rolled into one.

He is one of the longest-serving managers in the Premier League for a reason, but he is not managing as effectively as he was early in his tenure. Perusing the recent results tells you everything you need to know. And yet, there could be a whole raft of problems that cause even more damage once he departs.

Is it over?

One could draw a comparison to Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure at Manchester United and their capitulation. Arsenal would do well to avoid being in the same situation. It seems, though, that they have taken some steps that would suggest this.

Over this season, we have seen some steady appointments of staff at Arsenal, most notably Sven Mislintat (Borussia Dortmund scout), and Raul Sanllehi (Barcelona director of football) to either assist Wenger or prepare for life after him. Alongside the lack of his trademark top-four finish, there is a case starting to amass for his departure.

Next: Arsenal Vs Chelsea: 5 things we learned

There’s something wrong with one (or more) of the links in Arsenal’s football business chain. Unfortunately, this is also one of the downsides of a business – absolutely no transparency, either in the dressing room or in the boardroom. It is difficult to pin blame on one or two cogs in the machine. They are all, at some point in the process, guilty. But what cannot be doubted is that change must come in a healthy wave for this club to ever challenge for the major honours again.

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