Man on a mission: After 14 years at Arsenal, Arsene
Wenger still wants to do it his way
Arsene Wenger has insisted
Arsenal’s achievements should
never be directly compared to
Chelsea’s because of the Roman
Abramovich factor.
Wenger celebrated 14 years at the Gunners on Friday as details
of Manchester City’s £121million losses stirred up old feelings of
resentment ahead of Sunday's derby at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman has been among the fiercest critics of the way
Abramovich has bankrolled Chelsea’s rise by lending millions and
then cancelling the debt.
Arsenal have won seven major trophies under Wenger, while
Chelsea have lifted 12 in that period (including one European
Cup-Winners’ Cup), eight since the Russian billionaire bought the
club in 2003.
‘The biggest pride of a club is to achieve the maximum with the
resources available,’ said Wenger. ‘That is what we try to achieve
and the situation is not really comparable to what Chelsea has
done. The resources are different.
‘We do the best we can. We have our own way to run our club.
Every time we don’t win a game, everyone tells me I have to buy a
player.
‘The fact that I manage a club in a sensible way looks crazy. I
understand why Chelsea manage in their own way, because they can
support the deficit. We can’t.
Sugar daddy: Roman Abramovich has bankrolled
Chelsea's success while Alisher Usmanov has attempted to do the
same for Arsenal
‘They have become more sensible with time because they
realise it’s only a short-term situation,’ he added. ‘Look at what
happened to Portsmouth and Leeds. All the mismanaged clubs died
before. Nobody survived.’
With financial regulation high on UEFA’s agenda, Chelsea are
trimming costs, but UEFA president Michel Platini has been forced
to delay the plans. They are scheduled to kick off in 2014,
although ‘sugar daddy’ amendments have been made to the original
proposals, allowing investments — but not loans — in return for
shares.
‘Each person can manage their own way,’ said Wenger. ‘I will do
it my way. Platini looks to be strong-willed on the subject and has
my complete support.
‘But it looks difficult to bring it in because if you are
committed to contracts of three and four years, you cannot reduce
wages from one year to the next just because UEFA has kicked in
some new rules. It is workable over a longer period but not from
one season to the next.’