Arsene Wenger has dismissed talk of an Arsenal crisis as
he prepares to make two new signings in the next three weeks. But a
group of shareholders, worried by the departures of managing
director Keith Edelman and key midfield player Mathieu Flamini,
will this month write to the board demanding answers to a series of
pointed questions about the club's future.
Wenger wants to bring in a midfielder and a centre-half by the
end of the month and Valencia's Carlos Marchena is among his
targets. He said: 'At the moment, the vibes coming out of the club
are as though it might implode, but it's not like that at all.
We're very stable and in a financially very good situation. 'I will
be a busy man this summer. I know what I want and I'm very
confident. We should sort out the deals in the next two or three
weeks.'
Despite the loss of Flamini to AC Milan and the claim from
Alexander Hleb's agent that the Belarus midfielder wants to leave
the club too, Wenger has challenged his players to stay and fight
for next season's title. 'I have the feeling that we are not far
away and I hope it is shared by the players,' said Wenger.
'The real test we face is whether we are strong enough to say:
“Ok, we missed out this year. We came very close and if we are
winners we will come back and do it.” That's what I expect from my
team. I think the core of the team is ready to fight.'
Hleb, who is wanted by Inter Milan and Barcelona, appears
determined to leave despite Wenger's bullish comments about
fighting to hold on to him. He must hand in his notice to Arsenal
by Monday, May 26, if he wants to terminate his contract under the
new Webster Ruling, which allows players to buy out the remainder
of their deals. He risks being banned from football if he fails to
act within 15 days of the end of the season.
Hleb's commitment may be in doubt but Wenger has an ally in
striker Robin van Persie, who believes his manager's policy of
balancing the books in his transfer dealings and playing attractive
football will eventually have its reward.
But the Arsenal board will this month receive a letter from a
loose affiliation of small shareholders who believe the club need a
change of direction after three seasons without a trophy if they
are to compete effectively with their rivals in England and
Europe.
The season-ticket holders, all of whom once owned significant
stakes in Arsenal, believe only a serious problem could have
triggered Edelman's surprise exit at the end of last month, barely
a year after vice-chairman David Dein was forced out by his fellow
directors.
Arsenal last night denied allegations from another source that
Edelman's departure was directly linked to the loss of
£15million-rated Flamini on a free transfer, pointing out that Ken
Friar, not Edelman, took on Dein's role of overseeing transfers and
contract negotiations.
But the concerned shareholders suspect that a problem in
Arsenal's cash flow, perhaps relating to the property developments
associated with the Emirates Stadium, is restricting the club's
ability to compete with their rivals in transfer fees and wages,
causing players like Flamini and Hleb to look elsewhere.
They will write to the board this month asking them to explain
in full the reasons for Edelman's exit and to respond to specific
queries about the club's finances. Arsenal's stance is that
Flamini's wage demands were too large to be accommodated within
their wage structure and that their most recent financial results
show they have a wage bill of the same magnitude as Manchester
United and the resources to make big-money signings if Wenger so
chooses.
