Ivan Gazidis has assured Arsene Wenger he will have the money he wants to sign “world-class players” with Arsenal confident the manager remains the right man to take the club forward.
Twelve years on from his last title challenge Wenger faced an increasingly hostile fan base throughout last season as his Arsenal side failed to mount a convincing title challenge during a campaign where Chelsea, the Manchester sides and Liverpool were all engulfed by turmoil.
A small but vocal “time for change” protest during April’s 1-0 victory over Norwich suggested the Arsenal fanbase remains divided over the future of Wenger, who is entering the final year of his contract and is yet to decide whether he will sign another.
However Wenger seemingly intends to go out on a high, having shown decisiveness in the signing of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for £34million over a month before the transfer window formally opens. Arsenal are also considering breaking their £42.4m transfer record to acquire Juventus striker Alvaro Morata with a commanding central defender also believed to be on the club’s wishlist.
In spite of extensive debate over the size of Arsenal’s transfer budget, which has been estimated at between £54m and £100m, Gazidis is certain that Wenger will not want for funds if he can identify the right players to improve his squad.
He told the Telegraph: “We still have to ask ourselves difficult questions: Did we have the right squad depth for certain difficult functions? We have a good idea of where we feel we fell short and where we feel we did well.
“Because we have a highly-visible manager who represents so much continuity, there is a misplaced belief that things don’t change. There has been tremendous change within, fully embraced and led by Arsène.
“We are in a position that we were not in four or five years ago where we don’t have to sell our best players. We can go and sign world-class players if and when the manager identifies them.”
Whether Wenger is the right man to spend the money now available at the Emirates has been the subject of intense debate over recent years – though big money signings over the past three years, particularly Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech, have been nigh-on unquestionable successes.
Yet with little visible progress last season on back-to-back FA Cup triumphs several groups of Arsenal fans called for Wenger to change, or resign, during a season where the Gunners finished ten points off Leicester. It is not a plea that Gazidis is listening to.
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