Arsenal Relegation Plan Blurs Lines of Faith

Arsenal are preparing for relegation from the Premier League.

Just over a third of the way through the 2020/21 Premier League season, Arsenal find themselves sucked into a conversation that started out in jest but quickly transformed into a serious debate.

Could Arsenal really be relegated?

Going off form alone, one win in ten top-flight matches strongly suggests so. Throwing in the level of performances being churned out, the case gets stronger. Tying that all together with the toxicity and division within the squad and you may as well not bother hiring a defence attorney.

It appears that doubt has crept its way into north London, with steps being taken to ensure the vast majority of the playing squad would face 25% pay-cuts on their salaries if the club’s worst fears were realised. £37.5m would be taken off their total annual wage bill.

Mesut Ozil‘s wages needn’t be considered due to his contract expiring in the summer, but other key squad members, such as the club captain, also sit on healthy £350k-per-week wages that huddle together with others to account for an £150m-per-year outlay on salaries.

This news has come to light within days of Edu Gaspar and Vinai Venkatesham offering their public backing of Mikel Arteta to stop the rot and avert the slide. Yet here we are with Arsenal in a position of weakness unlike any period in the club’s history 134-history.

Taking such measures is nothing out of the ordinary: clubs pre-empt relegation in divisions across the continent, with Premier League newcomers following suit. Even sides in the top-flight who’ve maintained their status have to act in accordance with football’s ever-changing landscape and unpredictability.

Seeing Arsenal do so, however, asks questions of those who’re already being bombarded with demands they’re yet to seek the answers for.

Blurring the Lines of Faith

Mikel Arteta has been granted a stay of execution at Arsenal, one that ensures the wretched run of form he’s led the club on is being viewed through rose-tinted glasses.

Everyone at the club is in agreement: this isn’t even close to acceptable at a club of Arsenal’s size. With the money they spend on wages alone and with the calibre of players making up the bulk of the squad, winning four of your opening 14 Premier League matches and languishing in 15th spot is, under normal circumstances, a sackable offence.

With the humiliation of being mentioned in the same breath as relegation, Arsenal’s already tarnished reputation is at risk of being forgotten about entirely.

But there is an acceptance that it isn’t all Arteta’s fault. Whether one agrees with that or not, that’s the view of the club.

So in fortifying your walls and digging your heels in, where does including relegation clauses in player contracts fall in line with that mantra? Surely, if the Spaniard is doing ‘a great job’ and stays afloat with your full backing, your actions should echo your words of support?

Key among the tasks laid out by the leadership was to build a stronger bridge between fans and club. Greater clarity in what the strategy moving forward is, and transparency in their operations.

In insisting Arteta has your full support, only to backtrack on those sentiments with preparations for relegation, how should the fanbase be thought to perceive that move? At a point where words are all supporters have to fall back on, the corresponding actions paint an entirely different picture.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

There is nobody at Arsenal revelling in the current plight; not a soul taking this plummet down the table on the chin; no calm demeanours disillusioned at the state of the club.

Arsenal are deep in crisis. A sea of individual crises blending together into one hideous, over-sized iceberg on the Atlantic Ocean crisis ready to drag the club into the very depths of despair.

Y’know, pretty crappy and all.

In such times, hope is what bands everyone together, yet the unfortunate reality is that signs of improvement have been replaced with signs of deterioration. Arsenal are actually looking worse with each passing week, not better.

By all means back your manager, but only those foolish enough to ignore the alarm bells ringing off would prevent themselves from preparing for the worst. Whatever the case is in football, contingency plans must be made.

This applies to potential signings, possible replacements for departing players, candidates for a new manager, and much more.

Even if you truly believe in the man in the dugout, there comes a point where the position becomes untenable. Sacking a manager you still believe is talented and making a call for the sake of the club’s future can be mutually exclusive. You have to be prepared.

With these clauses in the players’ contracts it’s preparing for an outcome, that if arrangements are not made for, will financially ruin the football club; a deeper dive into monetary disaster beyond that already occurring.

Which side you do fall on?