Earlier Friday, Arsenal
manager Arsene Wenger made it known, quite frankly what most fans already
assumed, that his team cannot match fellow Premier League rivals Manchester
City and Chelsea in funds. The Frenchman
told Arsenal.com, “In terms of their resources no (we can’t compete)
because they have unlimited resources, but with our resources available, we are
ready to fight.”
Wenger
went on to say, “I believe that you can convince people in two ways - by the
quality and consistency of the performances. Let people make Man City or Chelsea the favorites,
we can accept that. The reality is that
on Saturday afternoon at 3pm, that is when you can perform and when we have an
opportunity to convince people that we are serious about what we want to
achieve.”
Manchester
City was taken over by Abu Dhabi United Group in September of 2008 (in a
reported $300 million deal), and quickly become one of the wealthiest clubs in
the world. Since the takeover, Manchester
City has spent a net of over $800 million in transfer fees (not including
player salaries).
Also
since 2008, the west London based Chelsea FC have spent a net of over $500
million in transfer fees (also not including player salaries). Arsenal on the other hand has actually made a
profit of around $18 million on transfer fees since 2008. Making a profit since 2008, all while qualifying
for the Champions League in every season during this time is surely a
remarkable achievement.
In
a rare splurge of cash, Arsene Wenger bought Germany and Real Madrid superstar Mesut
Özil in a record deal, roughly $66 million, in September of 2013. The Özil deal without a doubt transformed the
Arsenal team, and has not only let rival teams know that the Gunners cannot be
taken lightly, but has perhaps more importantly given the Arsenal players a
shot of confidence.
While
some may complain that Arsenal has not won a trophy since the 2004-2005 season,
the current Arsenal team is built around relatively young talent (such as
Kieran Gibbs, Serge Gnabry, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Özil,
Theo Walcott, and Jack Wilshere) and should challenge for trophies for many
years to come.
This
2013-2014 squad is one of the strongest Arsenal team’s in recent years
(currently leading the Premier League) and will be definite contenders for the
remaining three competitions that the Gunners are still involved in: the Premier
League, Champions League, and the FA Cup.
If Wenger leads his team to a trophy this season, it will be a truly remarkable
achievement, especially given the fact that not many pundits gave these Gunners
much of a chance to win anything this season.
Written by: @ChrisMoore32
This content was produced exclusively for ZachAFC.blogspot.com and can be reproduced with attribution, please.
This content was produced exclusively for ZachAFC.blogspot.com and can be reproduced with attribution, please.
