Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has told Arsene Wenger
it won't be the end of the world if the Gunners miss out on the
Champions League next season.
Bulletproof boss Wenger is staring down the barrel at his first
finish outside the top four in 13 years after slipping five points
behind Aston Villa in the race for Europe. And although his Gunners
side are far from being a one-man team, every goal Arsenal in
January has been either scored or made by Robin van Persie.
Wenger virtually conceded the title was beyond his flagging side
after the Dutch striker's injury-time volley rescued a point at
Everton on Wednesday.
Le Professeur admitted Arsenal - eight points behind leaders
Manchester United - were now battling for fourth place with the
Toffees and Villa. Now Old Etonian Hill-Wood, 72, has moved to
reassure Gunners fans who are twitchy about the possible
consequences of a season without Champions League football.
Crocked skipper Cesc Fabregas and Togo striker Emmanuel
Adebayor's continued loyalty is thought to be index-linked to
Arsenal retaining their top-four status.
But Hill-Wood, whose dynasty has run Arsenal for most of the
last 80 years, last night insisted there would be NO financial
apocalypse and NO ramifications for paying off the mortgage on the
club's £360m Emirates Stadium.
The club, which made a £36.7m profit last season, need to
sustain £20m-ayear repayments over 23 years to cover the £250m
bonds issue which financed the project.
Hill-Wood said: "There is no denying that it would be a real
financial drain on the club if we didn't qualify for the Champions
League next season. "Even if we were in the UEFA Cup and enjoyed a
long run in Europe, that would not come close to making up the
shortfall.
"But although missing out on the Champions League for one year
would be a big disappointment, it would not mean financial
armageddon for Arsenal. "When we worked out the budget, and did our
fund-raising calculations in respect of the new stadium, we did not
assume we were going to be in the Champions League every
season.
"That may be an assumption at other clubs, and it's not for me
to comment on the way they are run, but we did not want to get out
of our depth in terms of paying our bills.