The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) will approach the Gunners board with a view to rejuvenate the club’s fortunes by injecting “fresh blood” to the aging Arsenal hierarchy and spending more money on the squad rather than claiming profits.
Arsenal’s board are set to meet on Thursday and largest shareholder Stan Kroenke has stated his backing of under fire Arsene Wenger despite poor performances recently that will almost certainly result in the club’s eighth season without a trophy.
The AST have chosen not to discuss managerial appointments at present and remain behind Wenger while he is at the helm, but have aimed the blame at the Arsenal board who have been collecting healthy profits every season and not injecting the necessary cash back into the squad to strengthen as required.
An AST spokesperson told Press Association Sport:
At the meeting today the board must review its approach to much more than just the position of Arsene Wenger. The board needs to consider recruiting new members with exposure to the football world who can support and challenge Wenger to be a better manager.
It’s wrong to focus on just him at the moment. Every single non-executive director of the club is over 70 years old and it is time for some fresh blood. We would call for Stan Kroenke to meet with (second-largest shareholder) Alisher Usmanov to work out how to make it stronger.
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Our position is that we review the manager at the end of the season. The board must ask hard questions about itself and not just the manager.
AST members are not happy with the current situation. We think the club needs to review how they scout, recruit and pay players as the current approach is creating a depreciation in competitiveness. It is time for Kroenke to show to Arsenal fans some of his vision, to end his silence and to engage properly with them.
We would also like the board to be more accountable for the transfer budget available to the manager and make sure it is spent on players and not just used as profit.
The AST are most definitely taking the best route, the aging board needs freshening and with they must sanction more spending. There are always players available at the right price, and over the years Arsenal have continually missed out on top talents because they have failed to compete with their rivals. Hazard and more importantly Mata were big transfer targets that slipped through to Chelsea because the Gunners didn’t stump up the cash. With the stadium essentially paid off, now is the time to invest in the squad heavily and bring in some top talents, namely up front, as it is clear to everyone we need a prolific goal scorer.
With a reported £70 million to spend on the squad this summer (should they make the top four), Wenger will have some muscle to flex in the market. They have the bones of a very good squad especially after last summers acquisitions, but a bit more depth is required up front and a defensive, ‘boss’ midfielder to help out the defence is essential and should have been improved last summer or in January.
If only Arsenal had presidential elections similar to Barcelona/Real Madrid’s democratic system where the potential candidates express their vision to the club members and try to excel one another by promising certain investments in players. That would inspire more serious results otherwise you would not be re-elected if you hadn’t won a trophy within your tenure..
What are your thoughts on AST’s statements? Feel free to comment below..
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