Arsenal fans shouldn’t expect big name signing
Arsenal are good enough to win the Premier League, so fans better not expect Arsene Wenger to be bringing in more high-profile faces, said chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
|||Arsenal have a good enough squad to win their first Premier League crown since 2004 so the fans better not expect Arsene Wenger to be bringing in more high-profile faces, said chief executive Ivan Gazidis on Friday.
Wenger has brought in Swiss star Granit Xhaka for a fee reported to be up to £35million (42m euros, $46m) from German side Borussia Moenchengladbach.
However, the fans have been restless as to how a club with in excess of £100million in cash reserves is not willing to compete with their rivals such as Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City in the transfer market.
Gazaridis, though, moved to quell the fans' concerns by saying Arsenal's transfer policy - which usually revolves around one big name signing such as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez over the past few years - was correct.
“This approach, for us, gives us a very, very powerful balance because it's not just about spending money but about how you spend your money and doing it wisely,” Gazidis told ESPN.
“It's about having a strong core philosophy and values within the club that players buy into and our fans can be proud of.
“These are all things that lead to success, and when you look at Arsenal over the last four or five years, there's no question that the squad has been progressing in strength.
“We've got a squad now that we believe is capable of competing to win the Premier League. We came in second last year, which was disappointing. But we're on the right track.”
Arsenal finished without a trophy last season and there were small groups of fans who voiced their displeasure venting it at Wenger, even stealing second spot off bitter north London rivals Spurs on the final day of the season proving insufficient for them. – AFP