Since Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (“KSE”) completed the takeover at Arsenal in September 2018, the club has undergone a gradual, considered, methodical transformation at all levels. Like all revolutions – for that is what it has been – some of it has been bloody; some of it deeply unpleasant. Cast your mind back to April 2021. Arsenal, among a group of the very top-level European clubs – and Tottenham, more than a little incongruously – sought to break away from the Premier League and UEFA and create the European Super League (“ESL”). This prompted considerable societal wailing and gnashing of teeth and a massive fall-out with fans who saw the move as an unwanted break with our storied past. There was a mass protest at the ground before a game, which the players and staff certainly witnessed as they went past in the coach.
However, since KSE’s takeover, and in truth likely before, the Kroenkes have had a plan for the club. Undoubtedly they made a huge mistake with the ESL. But let’s take a wider look at what KSE has brought to the party across arguably the most significant areas and then add some thoughts on the direction of travel in the future.
Finance & Investment
Clearly the financing which KSE has brought to bear has underpinned the turning around of the tanker, which looked in serious danger of running aground. After buying out Usmanov, the previously parsimonious Kroenke approach changed radically. In hindsight, this approach was wholly understandable. Why should they pump money into a venture when the other major shareholder would benefit disproportionately? Unfortunately, the pre-takeover stasis only fed the inertia at the club, pulling us further down and eventually ensuring that we fell out of the lucrative Champions League.
It is estimated that, under KSE, the club has invested a gross £1.4bn in transfers. Up to May 31st 2024, KSE had also injected around £330m in shareholder loans, including around £180m essentially to buy back the outstanding bonds on the Emirates Stadium debt and refinance with loans from KSE itself. This was key as the previous loans were covenanted by gate receipts, which during COVID were zero. In the event of insufficient cash to pay the interest, technically bond holders may have been able to file for default. This move by KSE was also designed to take advantage of the globally lower interest rates prevailing as a result of quantitative easing, reducing the interest burden on the club. They had to pay a significant premium for early redemption of the bonds and to buy out the interest rate swaps used to turn the original slice of floating rate debt into fixed rate.
One area of the financial model at the club which lagged behind for years was the commercial revenue. Until the full purchase by KSE, this financial pillar was essentially a sleeping giant and significantly trailed Manchester United, the acknowledged leader in exploiting the “brand”. Since KSE’s takeover, the number and quality of “partners” and the revenue they generate has risen considerably, acknowledging the money which Arsenal had been leaving on the table hitherto. The volume and price of merchandising likewise. No Arsenal fan can fail to have noticed that commercial activities have gone from horse-and-cart pace to full-on Star Trek warp speed in recent years. The table below compares the commercial revenue figures from the season prior to the arrival of KSE to the latest available, sourced from relevant club accounts. I would expect the Commercial figures to rise again sharply in the 25/26 accounts as KSE works further to close this gap. The recently reported renewal of the Emirates sponsorship and stadium naming rights deal, with an annual uplift, should continue to lift revenues in coming seasons.
At the same time, KSE has knitted together commercial activities across its sporting portfolio, in order to enable a strategy, unique in the sports ownership world, of offering sponsorship opportunities across multiple sports simultaneously.
One note of caution in all this is that the club is highly dependent on continued financial support from KSE, to the extent that the auditors only signed the 24/25 accounts off after a legally binding commitment by KSE to fund transfer and operational deficits. This doesn’t pose a risk as long as Arsenal remains core to the ambitions of KSE. Rather it is a part of the overall KSE financial model, which is “buy, develop and hold”, focusing on growing the capital value rather than on extracting value through dividends. The Kroenkes put enterprise valuation growth at the centre of their financial model and as a result, have seen the valuation of KSE rise from US$8.4bn in 2019 to US$21.2bn in 2025.
Club Infrastructure
The owners believe deeply in the need for strong senior management and executive teams. The club had Ivan Gazidis as CEO when they took over in 2018– a man many Arsenal fans remember for the articulacy of his speech and the dissonant lack of action to back it up. Gazidis left in December 2018 to little outcry. Vinai Venkatesham assumed the Managing Director role at this point, having joined originally as Commercial Director, a role in which he failed to move the needle. In 2020, KSE put Tim Lewis in – a Magic Circle law firm partner whom they had engaged over several years – as an Executive Vice-Chairman, essentially to function as their eyes and ears in the boardroom. He inherited Raul Sanllehi, who left in August 2020, alarmingly shortly after Lewis’s arrival. That departure too caused little distress given that he was reportedly largely responsible for the record signing for £72m of Pepe the summer before. Venkatesham left in 2024. Since then, the owners have built a senior management team made up of acknowledged top-level operators, with the likes of Richard Garlick and Andrea Berta. In terms of the board, Josh Kroenke has moved in as have senior KSE executives Kelly Blaha, Otto Maly and Dave Steiner – in non-executive roles. All three had major roles in planning and delivering the SoFi stadium in LA for KSE. More of which later.
At first team level, the support team around Mikel Arteta has grown now to the level that the Tuesday Club podcast describes them as “The Pit Crew” – so many are they and the roles they fulfil. And when they move on – Carlos Cuesta for example – plans are in place to replace and adjust where necessary. Moreover, this summer we have seen the owners put considerable focus onto trying to ensure that our injury record is analysed with a view to improving it. A new Head of Medical is in place, as well as further hires in this area. Incumbents have been released. There is a pattern.
KSE has enabled investment in both the training ground and Hale End academy, helping to strengthen internal options for the first team. Per Mertesacker was allowed to develop the Academy and create his “Strong Young Gunners” ethos which now runs through the academy as though it were a stick of rock. Part of this is preparing players for the likelihood that they will not make it to the first team, ensuring that they have the tools to deal with this disappointment and move on to success elsewhere, within or outside of football.
Further, there are strong rumours that a stadium development – of what kind we know not – is being considered. The fact that KSE has seconded the serious big hitters named above from the KSE mothership would seem to be a major signal. They played major roles in the planning, financing and delivery of the SoFi Stadium, home to the now L.A. Rams. Property development and the development of venues alongside wider entertainment and shopping facilities have been a key part of the wider KSE strategy.
Following the ESL debacle, the ownership has put in place more direct links with supporter groups through fan fora as well as the Arsenal Advisory Board (AAB) consisting of board members and senior fan representatives. Overall, a serious upgrade on the days of the Hill-Woods and the “we thank you for your interest in our affairs” approach.
Looking to the Future
Past KSE behaviour probably gives us the best guide to what comes next. The pattern of KSE ownership tends to be one of patient building up of each “franchise”, setting up the infrastructure and a base from which to build, rather than Chelsea or City ownership models.
This can be witnessed not only in the way they have taken Arsenal from a pretty chaotic place, since taking full ownership in 2018, to Premier League success.
Similarly, it took 8 years of KSE ownership for The LA Rams to make the NFL play-offs, since when they have been regulars, as well as winning the Super Bowl. The Denver Nuggets have in recent years won the NBA championship as have the Colorado Avalanche in ice hockey. Clearly KSE is committed to sporting success.
However, it is notable that none of the KSE achievements, on an individual club basis, form part of what could be called a period of domination, as we have seen down the years in football. Perhaps the sheer scale and financial power required to do so in US sports make this a struggle; Perhaps the structural differences in the way the North American leagues work – e.g. draft systems, no relegation or promotion – make comparisons difficult or indeed unhelpful; Perhaps the North American leagues are in rather more of a “steady state” – hugely profitable with few if any new entrants, creating a situation where, for the ownership at least, there is little incentive to strive to create dynastic sporting success. In contrast, perhaps the Premier League rather more resembles a gold rush; New owners are coming in all the time; few profits are being made; but those owners with sufficient foresight and capacity to invest will win the day.
Arsenal, while not being profitable – true of almost all Premier League clubs – is highly cash generative, with revenues growing fast, aided by a now fully functioning commercial department. It makes sense for KSE to continue to back the club. All of this financial supercharging is designed to create an improved platform for sporting success for the club. And the model has, in large part, worked for the other clubs within the KSE sports portfolio. This is hugely encouraging from the perspective of us as fans. We crave the prolonged period of success we achieved in the 1930s and, to a lesser extent, in the early Wenger years.
Conclusions
I would expect to see further focused investment on the playing side in order to maintain our current competitiveness. As I write we are linked with all manner of top players, likely to require significant fees and wages. We are currently top of the pile in the Premier League. Our competitors will not stand still. City have already spent a Sheikh’s ransom on Anderson from Forest. Even the lowly neighbours are getting in on the act. Whether they have overpaid as a result of the feat of finishing 17th again, only time will tell. We certainly need cover for the players we know are still not physically right; Rice, Saka, Ødegaard, Saliba all went deep into the World Cup and may need extensive rest before being involved in the coming season. White and Timber have both had significant, and recurring, injury problems. This is all before we even consider adding the attacking firepower we all think is necessary to maintain our position and make our football more compelling again.
Perhaps linked to our lack of transfer activity, is the absence of a new contract for the manager, who is now into his final year. Given that Arteta has been absolutely key to our success in the pitch, it is difficult to imagine this is due to any unwillingness on KSE’s part to renew.
At Hale End, Mertesacker’s successor has been announced. I expect the Academy to continue to focus on raising the quality of players it produces, benefitting the first team. I also expect to see a greater focus on monetising the players produced. In comparison with Academies at City, Chelsea and even Liverpool, we seem to find it difficult to sell on home-grown players in volume for top prices. Such players, from an accounting and PSR standpoint, generate pure profit. This approach is something of a balancing act, however. I for one would not wish to see the Arsenal academy turned into a factory production line, treating young players as little more than indentured serfs. The soft side of Mertesacker’s reign is something the club ought to try to keep as a central tenet.
Overall, KSE ownership has thus far been a great benefit to Arsenal. After initial teething troubles, which nearly required a wholesale extraction, they have behaved as well as ownership of a medium-to-large business can. They understand that the aims of the fans – almost solely focused on the playing side – and their own aims – maximising the value of their investment – need to knit together. The have delivered a massive improvement in competitiveness both in the Premiership and Champions’ League and the title we all wanted in the Premier League. Neither have they been deaf towards the softer, cultural side, with Josh Kroenke in particular appearing to buy into what Arsenal means to us. Who would have thought that would be the case back in April 2021?
Superb work, CER. Well researched, informative and a most enjoyable read. Bravo!
A really comprehensive and informative summary CER. I knew someone with your professional background would provide great enlightenment on KSE and how they have overseen developments at Arsenal and so you have.
There are those among us who are very aware of what some of us have said in the past on this blog. To save them the trouble let me admit I have been very critical of the Kroenkes in the past . I have suggested they run mediocre franchises . That was true when I wrote it but it’s manifestly not true now . As CER illustrates they run a very successful sporting portfolio and Arsenal was the last part of the empire to record a major success.
They could have panicked when Arteta seemed to lose his way a few seasons ago . When I watched All or Nothing I was deeply cynical about Josh Kroenke’s sympathy to camera comforting and pledging support for Arteta . But something in his demeanour tempted me to believe him and since then I’ve been more convinced by his sincerity .
I’ve switched my position and I’m now a firm believer that KSE are very good for Arsenal and certainly an improvement on the patrician board we grew up with . Let’s hope we can go on to build a dynasty something all American sports franchises aim for . I’m hopeful .
Having heard the financial demands Vinny Jr is making there is no way we could contemplate meeting them . Arsenal will have known that before this story of their interest was released . I think it is about creating positive vibes in the transfer market after Rogers . Vinicius may decide he wants to play in a less racist society than Spain where he has been the victim of shocking racist abuse on and off the pitch .
He’d be much happier from that perspective in England but he would have to reduce his demands considerably
TTG @3. Perhaps you could give a source, preferably an authoritative one like Ornstein, for your quote “ having heard the financial demands Vini junior is making?
Wot Bath said @1. An excellent piece, thanks CER.
Though I disagree with many of the opinions / conclusions I have
already said my tuppenceworth on the Kroenkes in the recent Q&A so won’t
regurgitate.
Was just reading the Vinicius Jr story, as TTG says he wants
a lorra, lorra money. Was also reading the comments and
seems quite a few of the fan base don’t want us to take the
risk of buying someone seen as a divisive prima donna.
Many others think we should do anything to get him of course．
I imagine Real Madrid are balking at giving Vini a 66% pay increase when they have won nothing for two seasons, but they are off their rockers so who knows.
That is an accurate and well argued reprise of KSE’s ownership ans business model, CER. A couple of data points I would throw in is that sport now accounts for more than real eatate in the valuation of the Kroenke fortune (excluding the bit that came through marrige to a Wal-mart heiress), and that Arsenal is now his second most valuable sporting asset, although still worth half the LA Rams. It is also the only one which doesn’t serve as an anchor tennant to a commercial-entertainment-residential mega complex surrounding its home stadium — or at least not yet, although replicating in N5 the stunning SoFi complex near LA or his plans in Denver would be geographically challenging. However, you are right to note that Stan has put some of his heavy hitters when it comes to stadium development into London so we may yet see some unexpectedly ambitious plans when the Ems expansion is finally revealed.
C100
My source was Terry Gibson the Spanish correspondent for Sky Sports and a pretty well respected voice on Spanish football.
He claimed that Vinicius Jr is looking for a salary of €500 k net per week. The net part is the particularly difficult bit . It is hard to envisage paying that to one player without massive dressing room discord
Cheers CER. Excellent piece. I am not a numbers guy, so i am not particularly interested in pieces that are heavy on all the ins and outs of financial workings. So i very much appreciate that you did not bombard us, but picked out relevant data and used it to inform a fine piece.
Personally, I acknowledge the many problems with American billionaires. But, like so much in modern football (remember that travesty of a WC, anyone?) there presence is not enough to get me to stop following the game and the Arsenal. After accepting the type of people who now own top PL clubs… well, the Kroenkes are pretty much the best i could hope for. Josh in particular gives me the strong impression that this club has really gotten under his skin.
They have indeed turned things around, so fair play. Another interesting marker is that i would be unhappy if they wanted to sell up (unless to an Arsenal supporting billionaire who was tired of being so rich and just wanted to plough all his money into the club!)
With regards to Vini Jnr, I would be incredibly excited by that signing. It would be the biggest signing in our history. He is one of the top five players in the world. We have usually bought players at a lower level and turned them into stars, but we have never had the clout to buy guys at his level. When a guy like that comes on the market, the realistic options are Real Madrid, PSG, Man City and to a lesser extent Barcelona, Bayern and Chelsea. The entire world of football would view us differently if Vini Jnr decided to come to us. He’s also probably the best left-winger in the world (Kvaratskhelia the only contestant?) which is the position we most need to upgrade. Personally, i am not worried about his attitude – i think he’d relish working under Arteta and being part of our dressing room and i have not seen any criticism of him that strikes me as more than mud-slinging.
The finances are not a concern. For a start, by the time Ornstein is reporting this, the provisional numbers will have been established and not scared us off. He would bring huge commercial revenue with him, open new markets and excite the hell out of the fanbase. Gyokeres broke a shirt sales record last year. We are now champions and if we signed Vini Jnr that record would be eclipsed.
Even if he wants huge money, it would be significantly less than the top players of US sports are paid. There are ways to structure it (huge signing on bonus and then lower wages to keep closer to our model for example). And if we sold him in a few years then Saudi would still pay us a massive fee, so there is a built-in way to make a large transfer fee back further down the line.
For him, he’s been a star at Real Madrid, the most glamorous club in football, for 8 years. He’s had a lot of racism to contend with, and his current manager said what he said. It would make sense to me that Vini wants to move on and, with limited choices, I can see how he might decide that taking a huge club like Arsenal who have never won a CL (but are in the mix every year) and turning us into european champions and multiple PL winners would be a challenge he could get his teeth stuck into. We might look like an exciting option for him.
This one just feels right to me. I think it is a good fit and reckon we could make it work. Obviously, if he is available then the other clubs mentioned (minus Barca) may well try to throw money at him. Or he might just stay at RM. So i am not going to get ahead of myself. But if we can do the deal then i would be massively in favour.
Teams can’t put two or three men on both Saka and Vini Jnr. Those two on opposite flanks would be mouth-watering. Please, make it happen!
I am very much with GSD on Vini Jr. And I still haven’t seen a source link for the financial claims.
Last night Terry Gibson gave an in-depth rundown on Vini’s demands on Sky Sports News That’s a source link ok. They came direct from his agents who are using us as a stalking horse.From the playing point of view it would be thrilling à la Bergkamp BUT there is no chance of this happening. Mourinho won’t want one of his galacticos going as soon as he arrives nor will Perez . Don’t get excited .
Are Vinicius Jr’s wage demands too much for Arsenal?
Spanish football expert Terry Gibson on Sky Sports News:
“Vinicius Jr is currently on 15m Euros a year net.
“Real Madrid have offered him 20m Euros. He wants 30m Euros – just over 550,000 Euros a week net.
“There’s no budging on the contract from Real Madrid or Vinicius. Real Madrid are looking at a potential replacement in Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig. This [contract situation] has been ongoing for 18 months.
“But when you put those figures in the melting pot, it’s hard to imagine Arsenal or anybody in the Premier League matching those sums of money.”
There are too many financial variables and too much different information from reasonable sources (as well as plenty of rubbish) to say anything for certain. Mou and Perez don’t get to make this decision. Its up to Vini Jnr. There are plenty of ways to pay the man. Arsenal might find some sort of image rights deal more palatable than Madrid, for example.
We spend all year complaining that the mainstream media talk us down all the time. Then we are linked with a massive signing, the mainstream media try as hard as they can to dismiss the links and we… swallow what they say whole? I’m not so sure that is wise.
And I’ve heard a lot of good journalists give their best informed answers to questions and somewhere down the line it emerges they were completely wrong, or a situation developed in a way they thought was not possible.
I certainly don’t believe for a minute that some bloke on Sky has better information than Arsenal do about Vini’s wage demands. And I do believe Ornstein when be says that the move has buy in at all levels of the club. So, I imagine that the club know what he wants to be paid and think they can get close enough to push for a deal. Any other reading doesn’t make sense to me.
Personally, I have no idea if this will get over the line, but TTG I’ve noted your comment @12 that there is ‘no chance of this happening’ and you obviously have a lot more faith in your information than I do in mine. I shall watch with interest. Getting this done would be a seismic shift for the club. I think they want that. I think they are serious. Let’s see if the player is.
We should do what RM frequently do; advise the player to wait out his contract and sign him for free. The excessive wages will be more palatable when there is no transfer fee.
Sign for long term, and sell after consecutive CL championships for a profit.
GSD @14. 💯
Keenos on Vini Junior and how to pay his wages
. https://shewore.com/2026/07/26/will-arsenal-struggle-to-finance-vinicius-jr-deal/
Just to add to GOD’S views there are deals that seem impossible but still happen at other clubs so why not at Arsenal? If he’s wanting a move because he doesn’t want to be coached by a Luddite or be dictated to by the owner maybe he’s happy to compromise. His demands are to RM not Arsenal.
I know nothing about image rights, but a quick bit of research suggests Vini Jnr could earn a lot more from his image rights in England than Spain. That would help him put more in his pocket.
Keenos makes a good point that we can save serious wages if we sell Jesus (£250k?). I think Reiss Nelson is on about £100,000 a week (from memory we gave him a great deal that I’m not sure he ever warranted). Just moving on two players that we want to move on would pay well over half Vini Jnr’s salary even if it is at the top end of reporting.
It’s a lot of money, but it is IS doable. And Ornstein would not be publishing the story if we weren’t serious.
Boff@15. I can’t see it. Real Madrid would be seriously against that. They have to pay him a large loyalty bonus if he starts the season as their player. Which would be even more annoying for them if he went on to leave on a free. They’ll try to avoid that at all costs.
Vini Jnr would endure a tough season – unsure if Jose would use him, and taking even more abuse across Spain and even from Madrid fans who would doubtless turn on him.
And Arsenal would still need to buy a top left winger for this season who we would then somehow have to accommodate when Vini arrived.
Not to mention, if we waited a year then anything could happen and PSG, City or whoever would have the time to sort out a succession plan and make him a better offer. And we might not be in the same position of strength.
I don’t think waiting a year suits anyone, least of all us. I suspect this is now or never.
Vini jnr is apparently back at training in Madrid tomorrow and from then he’ll be talking to his club to extend the contract or confirm that he’s leaving. We’ll see.
Vini Jr.’s current Real Madrid contract, which runs to the end of next season, pays him €25 million a year (€480,769 a week) plus up to €12 million in performance and deferred signing bonuses (but excluding image rights, etc), according to Capology, which is a football finances consultancy that has a database of players’ estimated salaries that is regarded as reliable as any (its Arsenal listings pass the smell test, to my mind).
That makes Vini Jr RM’s second-highest-paid player after Mbappé, who is on €31.25 million a year with bonuses of up to €40.24 million. Capology pegs Saka as our highest-paid player, on €18.29 million a year, with bonuses of up to €4.6 million. That is equivalent to a base salary of £300,000 a week, which looks about right.
This is Capology’s listing of the top 10 PL salaries under current contracts. The green tick indicates the numbers have been verified with someone privy to the contract negotiation (eg, the player, their agent or club).
Tyro test
Vini vidi vici
bt8@24: 🙂
GSD@20: From the same source, Jesus is on £265,000 a week, Nelson is on £100,000 a week, and let’s not forget another likely outgoing, Fabio Vieira, who is on £45,000 a week. That would be £410,000 a week to kick in to Vini Jr’s pay packet, and, incidentally, an exact match to his base salary at Madrid. We also have some other high-earners who are mentioned as potential departures: the skipper is on £240,000 a week, Marinelli is on £180,000 a week and Ben White is on £150,000 a week,
There is no doubt Vini Jr. would be a statement signing. He is clearly a square peg in a round hole at Madrid, so he might see a move to N5 as beneficial from that point of view, and worth foregoing a base pay rise for if the potential bonuses were attractive enough. We are also alone among the top European clubs with a clear-cut vacancy for a top-class left winger, so he could be sure of playing. Nor would we be at risk of being in the position of having two elite left-wingers, one or both of whom would inevitably end up being browned off. That would be a real possibility for PSG, Bayern, Barca and Man City.
I think you are right that, if we are to do the deal, this is the time to do it. We need an elite left-winger now, and it seems we could just about stretch to making the money side of it work. Also, if Perez is serious about making a mega-galactico signing for Madrid, he is going to have to free up some salary room.
There are also enough goals in Vini Jr. that acquiring him would also relieve the immediate pressure to sign a nine. I am not convinced that Alvarez’s heart would be in a move to us. Arteta would have to be convinced that Vini Jr. would sign on to his non-negotiables, but with that caveat, this does feel like a rare opportunity to be grabbed.
@24 😂 fits nicely with the theme of CER’s piece too
No idea if this will happen but happy to trust MA / Berta
and also follow TTG’s well-meant advice and not get too excited.
In other news of our actual players, it seems we beat
MK Dons 3-0 and welcomed Messier and Tzolis to The
Arsenal, we also welcomed Nelson and Nwaneri back
to the colours
An excellent informative and interesting read CER. I enjoyed thoroughly absorbing it all. I have always seen the KSE ownership as an improvement on the prior model and can honestly say that their business development plans align completely with those I would have adopted should I have had the opportunity to be on board. (I would have demanded earlier action on Commercial improvement. The loans and bonds management work would have required me to “call a friend” though).
I’m excited by the notion of Vini Jnr on our left side but I’m not getting excited about the reality of an arrival – after all, we’ve just signed the marvellous Tzolis who my ‘sources’ tell me will provide a left wing transformation at the level which might mean Vini would spend most of his time on the bench, open mouthed in admiration.
I enjoyed the many comments on the prospect of Vini in red too. Great stuff.
OM@28: Nelson and Nwaneri on the score sheet, too.
And our Where-Are-They-Now department notes that Cohen Bramall, formerly of this parish, was playing for MK Dons.
The transfer market isn’t an efficient market, in an economic sense, to start with, but with the figures bandied about for Vini Jr and Barcola, we have to think of that part of it as resembling the market for super-luxury real estate: eye-watering prices for one-off properties that the rest of us can barely imagine paying, let alone afford.
My opinion matters not a jot to the powers-that-be in Arsenal but I don’t think signing Vini Jr at the prices and wages quoted is at all sensible. He’s a great player but also a huge ego and I am concerned about the impact his arrival on those financial figures will have in the dressing room and the club’s financial stability. MA8 has built a band of brothers from the mess he inherited – it would be a pity to jeopardise that. I do think he’s playing games with Madrid for his new contract so my fears may be groundless but I’m not a fan of this liaison. We do have more status, draw and buying power than ever but I don’t think we should behave like a drunk with a new credit card.
https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/5467
This article from Dan Mountney one of the Gooner’s historians tells of the two attempts that Terry Neill made to try to sign Diego Maradona . The first in 1979 and the second in 1982 . The article gives quite a lot of detail. These were serious pursuits which followed the recruitment of Ardiles and Villa by our noisy neighbours . Dan also recounts our interest in signing Glenn Hoddle !
There was quite a lot of press hype over the transfers especially the second attempt because he was becoming much better known. The level of media hype machinery was much reduced then. It would have been a fascinating signing especially as we were sooo boring then .
I’m not going to add to the debate because as my initial remarks suggest I think this is a non-story and an attempt to get Vinny a better contract in Madrid. I don’t think he has the slightest intention of leaving .
Having said that if our owners feel we can afford it, Arteta and Berta really want him and I’m wrong about him wanting to come I shall be very supportive . It will drive our rivals to distraction , it will create enormous excitement at the Ems, it will sell hundreds of thousands of replica jerseys and it might be a stroke of genius , if he can produce anything like his best form. It will be Charlie Nicolas to the power of 100 if you remember that .
In other possibly bogus, possibly not, transfer news, Bohley/Clearlake are reported to be looking at signing Jordan Henderson, 36, and Danny Welbeck, 35.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cx2d79ddvg4o
Have they bought the Royal Hospital Chelsea while we weren’t looking, and intend to set up a Chelsea Pensioners XI? Who next? Fukushima United’s Kazuyoshi Miura, 59, the world’s oldest professional footballer? Get your boots out, senior ‘holics. You never know…
Ned@34 – that’s it. I’m off to Cobham tomorrow with my boots. My hips are less than 5 years old. Ok , I haven’t played since they went at 21 but I must be in with a chance…
TTG@33 – if Vini were to come, I would hope he would do more than score against T*tt*nh*m and wrap his car round lampposts on Holloway Road. I’m not even sure Suzanne Dando is available.
Ned@34
The news from the Bus Stop grows ever more extraordinary. One presumes Alonso thinks they need more experience in the side . It smacks ( after a fashion ) of his signing of Granit Xhaka at Leverkusen and he tried for him earlier in the window . Tuchel took Henderson to be a cheerleader in the World Cup and scarcely played him before he helpfully fell over a bench in Mexico . He took up a space that could have gone to a much more talented player and Jordan could have cheered on from the bench being careful not to fall over it.
Other possibilities are bringing back Jamie Vardy , Olivier Giroud and John Terry . It’s great when a plan comes together
TTG @36. Brilliant post.
Just in case the thought has crossed anyone’s mind I am simply not willing to hear a word said against Suzanne Dando.
@33 it would be a noisy transfer indeed TTG, I was thinking the five noisiest (not biggest or best) or splashiest transfers in my Arsenal supporting days would be Supermac, Charlie Nic, God, Ozil and Declan.
Matt @38, not Sol?
Sorry for the of late customary lateness – excellent CER, a very interesting perspective of the Kroenkes’ involvement.
I do share Bath’s concerns @32 on bringing Vini Jr into such a tight, united squad. I have no clue or responsibility, thank god, as to whether the finances are achievable, but even the most loyal players are human beings with human characteristics. Done will not be happy to be paid 25% – 30% of what the new star boy would reportedly be receiving. A lot of supposition in there but, you know, smoke and fire …….
@38 yes, you’re right Bath, the screaming and wailing on that one would’ve drowned out a passing Concorde
Matt@38
You’ve picked five crackers there . I think they might be the five most exciting money transfers although I will add one more in due course . But I think the Sol Campbell deal which was a free transfer ( a very expensive free transfer! ) was incredibly exciting if you were an Arsenal fan . It really did move the dial as he was about the best centre back in Europe . It was also a smack in the mouth for Spuds everywhere because it illustrated very eloquently the relative standing of the clubs . The success he helped us gain was confirmation of the value of the deal to us .
A very exciting deal was the signing of Alan Ball at Christmas 1971 . A World Cup winner, a British record and a bona fide superstar it was a real surprise . Signing Joe Baker in 1963 was very exciting too. He was a big star and a very prolific striker.
And so Infantino’s fiendish plot is revealed:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c8xng9894z0o
Infantino will be able to award his favourite president the FIFA Pieces of Eight Prize every year.
At least it will end the endless expansion of the football calendar. With all 211 FIFA members now making the finals of the new annual World Cup, plus however many thousands of clubs there will be in the World Club Cup, there won’t be any time for domestic competitions.
How, in God’s name, is Arsene Wenger associated with this nonsense?
My admiration for Arsene has diminished severely since he joined FIFA. His presence alongside Infantino dignifies FIFA’s antics .
Re the World Cup UEFA should secede from FIFA . Nearly all the top teams ( 6 of the last 8) are from Europe and most of the footballing wealth is there
A World Cup without European teams would be meaningless. It’s sad that it’s come to this but it’s what happens when an unholy axis like Infantino / Trump is allowed to flourish
TTG @46, you are correct about Europe’s financial muscle and a WC without its heavyweight clubs would garner less sponsorship but sadly I fear UEFA will not take a united stand. Portugal and Spain, along with Morocco , are hosting WC 2030, and will not want to lose the financial injection they will gain from fleecing travelling fans – now a FIFA tradition. There may be Eastern European countries (and Ireland) for whom the upfront bribe will be attractive enough to swallow any remaining principles that they ever had. I think the WC, despite C100’s love, is going down the toilet and there’s no saving it.
I hold no candle for FIFA or Infantino, and UEFA is hardly an innocent in this regard, but the fundamental issue is the conflict of interest between the same organisation being a governing body, whose primary concern should be the good of the game, and being the organiser of the main competitions, which are increasingly treated as profit-maximising commercial ventures. The most depressing aspect of this whole affair, among several, is that examples of separating those responsibilities, eg, the FA and the Premier League, point to this all ending up in only one way. Sport is now deep in the thrall of the media-leisure-entertainment industry and its financiers. Jumpers-for-goalposts only exists in fading sepia photographs.
Is football the new Christmas he asks himself while swinging in an inviting
cross over to the far stick
Boom!
Well in for the half-ton, CER — and for beating Stavanger’s Sean Christmas to OM’s cross.
>>>>>>>>>>>>