The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has accused manager Arsene Wenger of operating under a “false economy” after the club’s latest set of financial figures revealed cash reserves of £135.9million.
The results for the six months up until the end of November 2015 confirmed swollen coffers at Emirates Stadium, helped by Wenger’s only significant close-season outlay being to bring in goalkeeper Petr Cech from Chelsea.
Criticism of the Frenchman’s perceived lack of spending is a familiar lament as Arsenal aim to win their first league title since 2003-04, and Tim Payton of AST believes spending money in the bank before an anticipated hike in transfer fees when the latest Premier League television deal kicks in would have been a better way to go.
“These are half-year results so when the full year comes in they will have around £250m in cash thanks to the TV rights and so on,” Payton said in the Daily Mirror.
“They are the biggest cash reserves in world football. It brings us back to the question as to why not buy better players and also offer a bit more support to the fans.
“Wenger recently said that he only expects transfer values to increase and if that happens then keeping money in the bank would only be a false economy.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s second-largest shareholder Alisher Usmanov now owns 100 per cent of his Red and White Holdings company after buying out Farhad Moshiri.
Usmanov’s 30 per cent stake in Arsenal sits only behind majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.
“I am committed to Arsenal and I will proudly retain my holding as a long term investment for myself and for my family to benefit for generations to come,” Usmanov said.
“I want the absolute best for Arsenal and am prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of the club.”
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