Arsene Wenger has
been told there is a "substantial budget" to spend on players and
wages to turn Arsenal into Premier League champions. Arsenal
director Danny Fiszman insisted Wenger will be backed in the
transfer market because there is "great belief" in him despite
going three years without silverware. And he was adamant the club's
wage structure was not an obstacle to signing top players, even
after midfielder Mathieu Flamini quit the Emirates to join AC Milan
for £60,000- a-week after tax.
Arsenal boss Wenger is close
to completing an £11million deal for Marseille forward Samir Nasri
and Fiszman says there will be more money available to try to
narrow the gap on Manchester United and Chelsea. Arsenal's wage
bill was just £2m less than Manchester United's, according to
figures from Deloitte and Touche, and Fiszman says the club can
compete for the best players.
Fiszman, the power broker on
the Arsenal board, said: "We've never said no to Arsene so I'm sure
that, whoever he wishes to bring in, he will be fully supported.
"There's no set amount. But as I said we've always supported
Arsene, we've never said no to him and have no intention of saying
no to him.
"I think Arsene said it's not
a big name we're after, it's a big talent. I think it's about big
talents and committed players. "We made a substantial offer to
Mathieu. It was considerable and in line with our wage structure
but he chose to go elsewhere. "We wish him luck and thank him for
what he's done for the club.
"You say we don't pay the
wages other teams do. If you look at our total wage costs you'll
see they're virtually the same as Manchester United and
substantially more than Liverpool. "Of course we're all a little
less than Chelsea who are in a world of their own. But compared to
Manchester United and Liverpool we're good payers.
"We believe it's a team sport
and we do well but we don't want the disparity between the
top-earner and the bottom-earner being too big. It takes 11 people
on the pitch to deliver."
Fiszman, in an interview to
be broadcast on Arsenal TV today, believes the Gunners will be
strong enough to come back next season after tailing off in the
title race. The diamond tycoon added: "Obviously the way we
finished was disappointing, but I think it has to be seen as a
successful season even though we didn't win any trophies. "I think
if you had asked fans at the start of the season if they would have
been happy to finish fourth, qualify for Champions League football
and finish within 15 points of Manchester United, they would have
taken it.
"The football we played
through the year created expectations, and the fact we had a
five-point lead created even greater expectations, so I think
everybody is deflated. "But we need to balance that and remember
where we were the previous year, so as long as we are seeing
continuous improvement we have to be satisfied.
"If we look back where we
were last year, we've taken great strides. The critics wrote us off
and gave us no chance of qualifying for the Champions League, but
the team proved itself. "In the context of the season we came very
close and we're disappointed we didn't win it but we've made a
constant improvement and that's what we seek always."
THE BIG FOUR .. IT'S
A RICH MAN'S WORLD
The wage bill and transfer
outlays of the top four (06-07)
Chelsea
£125m Wage bill
£68m Transfer bill
Man
United
£92m Wage bill
£61m Transfer bill
Arsenal
£90m Wage bill
£11m Transfer bill
Liverpool
£80m Wage bill
£26m Transfer bill