Liverpool takeover leaves Arsenal poor, raises questions
Disclaimer: Attacking me on the headline will not get you anywhere - all I’m saying in it is that the Liverpool takeover leaves Arsenal will the least amount of transfer funds next summer out of the top four clubs.
With the terms of the deal accepted by the Liverpool board, the takeover (and further transfer speculation) is a mere formality.
This leaves us with a very interesting situation in the top tier of the Premiership.
Chelsea have Roman’s billions, and the effects of wealth have been immediately evident on the pitch. Manchester United’s takeover left the club in debt but much of the hoohah surrounding it was (and is) trash - the club has deeper pockets than before and because they will be financially prudent as well, it points to a increased buying power than before.
Liverpool, with a proposed new stadium and increased transfer funds, will be looking to firmly place themselves in between Chelsea and Manchester United - and unlike United’s takeover this one is expected to be much more pleasant (unless there is debt involved) and quite ironic (remember how Liverpool fans were bashing Chelsea?).
It does, however, leave Arsenal as the odd club out. There have been rumours that Arsenal will be bought, but without any confirmed approach speculation is futile. Arsenal have Wenger and his eye for talent but you need to mix that youth with experience, and if Arsenal are going to stick to buying young and cheap, it’s not going to work out that well.
Bottom line - Arsenal will sooner or later need the same sort of money that Liverpool and Chelsea will be playing with, and that might need to come from investment rather than ticket sales and winning titles.
But that’s just the sideplot - the big question is, who’s next?
Arsenal? Newcastle? Everton? Manchester City?
- Liverpool takeover financed by 298m loans, but it’s all OK
- Manchester City in takeover talks?
- Owen nears Newcastle return, poses key questions
- Liverpool fans: Time for some answers
- Respect Arsenal’s right to have the very best
Discussion - 19 Responses
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I really don’t think we need as much money as Chelsea, Liverpool or Man U to do as well, especially with Wenger at the helm. The idea behind buying young is that the youngsters with obvious talent develop from a young age at the club and because they’ve been at the club for so long it means that they’re loyal to the club and the staff because that’s all they’ve really known and because the club gives them the right chances. Meanwhile while Aston Villa by Ashley Young for 10 million pounds or whatever, Arsenal snap up an experienced, highly regarded player in Tomas Rosicky for around 7 million, so we’re not doomed in that regard. Wenger and his scouts are sharp enough to spot experienced yet not excessively hyped talent outside of England (because they are ridiculously overhyped and overpriced as a result over there) I just don’t think we need money from investors to win things, we need good players and staff, and we all know that we have those.
There is one fundamental problem with the trend of club takeovers and all these funds coming from generous benefactors to spend on players and that is the fact that there simply aren’t enough players in the world worth that kind of money, and what happens when more and more clubs are bought by investors? Then it’s all back to square one, and nobody really has an advantage, and then maybe they’ll realise how bloody ridiculous it is to spend so much money on so-so players.
I agree with you - smart buying is the way to go, and I think Chelsea and Manchester United are following Arsenal’s lead on this, although Wenger and his scouts obviously have a greater reach (for now). Just the fact that Arsenal managed to bring in Rosicky and Hleb without much trouble is testament to their ability to bring in experience AND youth.
However, there are times when you need deep pockets - not because you want to win the Premiership in 2-3 years, but because you want to win it now, and the CL too.
I don’t think Arsenal will suffer, but it’ll be harder for them to compete without the financial backing.
I just don’t think we need money from investors to win things, we need good players and staff, and we all know that we have those
When the top four all have good players and staff, and three of them have more money to buy world-class players, where do you think the titles will go?
You can’t buy the Premiership, right?
More money will certainly help Arsenal.
”Arsenal have Wenger and his eye for talent but you need to mix that youth with experience, and if Arsenal are going to stick to buying young and cheap, it’s not going to work out that well. ”
based on what? you know better than the economics major wenger do you?
Its obvious now that Arsenal will have a harder task of winning the league as we do not have the same financial health as our main rivals (even spurs have had a bigger transfer kitty than us for wuite some time now)but the scary thing is that what is stopping these young players we are banking on from leaving in the future.
We all know that it is inevitable that players like fabregas will one day return to their homeland. I wolud hate for arsenal to be the next Ajax in the sense of our players being developed for other teams to snatch them when they reach their prime.
If the author ever bothered to do his research he would be aware that Wenger stated about 10 days ago that he has money to spend but did not find anyone worth spending it on, citing Gareth Bale as an example of inflated prices. He also stated that he wanted most of his players to come from the youth team (whether local, eg Hoyte, or foreign, eg Clichy) and that would leave the bulk of the money at his disposal for one-off super players. This means he can go and splash 20m on Torres if he wants and bring in Diaby to replace Gilberto. Or he can spunk 10m on Buffon and give Aliadiere a game up front. This makes perfect sense.
What good is 60m in transfer money to Liverpool? There are only so many good players available and they already play with top clubs anyway. Chelsea are finding it increasingly difficult to pick up top class players unless they’re in their 30s and out of contract. The 30m spent on Shevchenko was laughable and not a mistake other clubs will want to repeat.
It would be nice to think that football could once again be about the game on the pitch rather than how expensive your strikeforce is. Having said that, what’s the betting Liverpool spend 25m on Torres this summer?
The Arsenal financial penalty is a temporary one, however. Ashburton produces more gameday revenues than even Old Trafford, with the club level and all. As soon as Highbury redevelopment is finished and the debts for that off the book, the club debt load will be lessened and the financial resources will be greater.
Not attacking you, but that is a pretty naive article. For example
“”Manchester United’s takeover left the club in debt but …..the club has deeper pockets than before and because they will be financially prudent as well, it points to a increased buying power than before.”"
What kind of rubbish is that. they have decreased spending. They will have to take more money every year just to service the debt, and they have managment that will try and exact as much profit as it can without regard to the team. If they lost every match and they maximised income, Glazer would be satisfied.
As for liverpool, I’ll believe increased spending, new stadium with no debt, and actual quality players coming into a quality side when I see it.
Y’all should take a look at Tom Hicks’ baseball and hockey teams. Liverpool won’t be winning many trophies in the future.
champion or linage?? maybe just wenger could explain~~
but maybe more money could rebuild a strong unbeatwn-Arsenal again~~~
Liverpool is extremely lucky to get these americans to takeover. They own sports teams in the U.S., AND they are known not to shy away from buying superstars or even paying them. And Hicks is a builder of high-tech sports stadiums as well
This Hicks, owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team once paid US$279 MILLION for baseball star player, ALEX RODRIGUEZ, which did NOT HELP the team much as they ended in LAST PLACE in the 3 years he was there, then SOLD to the richest most lorried baseball team, the New York Yankees at a LOSS, even agreeing to PAY the player’s salary for a few more years! HAD to do it, since baseball has a salary cap and the sale allows Hicks to BUY others. Strangely, since Rodriguez left, the Rangers entered the payoffs for the so-call World Series championship. RECENTLY, Hicks tried to buy two other stars, one Japanese, and here we are talking about OVER $100 Million !!! SO, HICKS WILL CERTAINLY PROVIDE THE MONEY TO BUY SOLID STARS
As Ausgunner said, I don’t think that Wenger needs money as badly as Liverpool. Wenger has had a head start on building the academy. Benitez has even admitted having a lot of average players. We don’t need to buy 4 or a half-dozen players like them. Perhaps to close the gap with Chelsea and United a “big signing” or two is in order (and would have helped these past three seasons), but these can go wrong more often than not. Besides the fiscal restraints, I think that these flops have changed Wenger’s buying philosphy - instead of putting all his eggs in one basket, he’s been spreading it over several younger players who require more polish. This has perhaps hurt the results in the short term, but should pay dividends over the rest of the decade. Moreover, I struggle to come up with big names whose clubs would let them go and would actually improve the club.
Specifically, we are in need of GK to replace Lehmann when he leaves, but Buffon is the only big name worth big money. I doubt he would leave Italy. Wenger is notorious for not spending on defenders. Even at ManU, Vidic only cost a quarter of what Ferdinand did and is probably the better player. Lucio is the only big name CB out there. Would he come to compete with Gallas and Toure for a starting spot? There is such a dearth of quality, consistent wingers (e.g. on the level of Pires or Giggs), Ribery is the only option. Wenger has enough to buy him. A year ago, I would have welcomed Torres. But even as the best of the crop, he isn’t on the level of RvN, Henry, etc. RvP has arguably had a better year than him.
I admire Arsenal’s transfer policy. I think we can learn a great deal from that. Let’s not forget that with their youth team, they beat us (ManU) not once, but twice in the league this season.
I was waiting for this article becuase I wanted to know:
shame 
:-)
Don’t the Liverpool fans now just feel pretty STUPID over their “BORN IN THE USA” chants?
USA USA USA USA…
The Gooners won’t need much money for players because of the good young players coming through and the finance that your new stadium provides. Wenger has been brilliant in bringing young players through. It’s a lesson we can learn.
As a Liverpool supporter, I envy the young talent at your club. Van Persie and Fabregas are 2 stand out players with their best years ahead of them and that’s scary.
As for the chants, it’s nothing but banter. Too many people take the whole thing way too personal unless its true - much like the” Everton is a small club” comments.
Of the so called top 4, we needed to do the most work to catch up financially and were lagging miles behind. The investment will hopefully take us to the next level where we are in a position to challenge Man U and Chelsea. With 2 (Arsenal and us) of the top 4 in a transition period, next season is going to be brilliant.
Must say that Wenger has done a great job for the gooners over the years, but true dominance, such as that historically displayed by LFC and ManU needs more than the occasional championship and a good run in Europe.
Until Arsenal win a European club, they will be sat in the second tear of English football with others who have similar tradition and a good sized trophy cabinet such as Everton. I know that most goners would spit blood at the comparison, but its realistic until the European cup is won. For that money on true class is a must.
At least the Russians haven’t even made it to the second tear though the headhunters would dispute that. There is such potential in Arsenal to make it into the true “Big Club� category. All that is lacking is big ears once or twice. That will take spending like Wenger can do right now.
With all of these overseas takeovers the initial talk has all been about investment and how much money the clubs will have to spend. But what about later ? Investment is a two way street so sooner or later these owners will want something back. In fact they will want more back over time than what they put in. It’s called profit. So in fact these clubs will have less to spend in these circumstances. Even the deep-pocketed Abramovich is showing signs of tightening the purse strings. No, as a Gooner I don’t feel threatened by the Liverpool takeover, or any other for that matter. Our board have shown astute financial capability over the years, and we have the right player strategy and the right manager to deliver exciting football and success over the long term.
Poor Arsenal? Poor Question I think. It was so obvious that our Arsenal “Kids” are going to be the best team playing football ever in Premier League in the next 2-3 years. It was so clear that Wenger is planning his third great team that only few new players could fit in. Just look at Denilson, Rosicky quickly fit in our style of football which were built around Cesc (it was clear why Cesc was honoured by 8 years contract). With Henry and Gallas as guardians of our transition period, the future couldn’t be better for Arsenal. We even don’t need big transfers at all except for one GK and one winger.
When Chelsea building their mega-cosmopolitan team, it was proven they have difficulties for maintain it. They had to sell alot of players in the beginning of this season which made them suffered in the strength of depth. They even refused to inject new cash for players desperately needed by the Special One in this winter. They made their own problem by buying players at inflated prices, which raise trend for every club to sell them at different prices from market, still could be seen in the future.
For the long term I could only seen self-destruction for that club. It started at the end of this season. Wink.
For ManYoo, maybe the title is for them this season, but could they maintain it? Hardly. Scholes, Giggs… who to replace? They need to spend much for striker, and their reserves are not even close to those two influential player of this season. Fergie is not building a new champion squad.
Liverpool? Still have to witness their transfer policy next season. But if you observe Rafa behaviour at transfer, it is almost certainly would not be as successful as it is expected to be.
Arsenal? Financially we couldn’t be better at this condition. Having the debt that almost certainly paid-off even in mid-term, we also have the good position in the league and the attractive football branding. The challenge is how to sell the Arsenal Brand off the pitch. In marketing, I think Arsenal still far behind their competitors, especially in Asia.
For the team building point of view, when Henry chosed to stay in Arsenal (and snubbed Barcelona, yes, the Europe Champion), you shouldn’t be worried we will become the next Ajax, it was too far to compare us to them.
Cesc pledged for the future, Gallas moved from the English Champion, Torres even keen to join Arsenal (even it will not materialised), that show a great future for Arsenal Football Club, and we do not need that foreign investment.
We will not become the next Real Madrid, the next Juventus, or the next Man Yoo. We are Arsenal, future trend setter and many clubs will follow our path to become Great. Great Academy, Great Institution, Great Football, and Great Management. All was paved by the one and only, the truly Special One, Monsieur Arsene Wenger.
Lets not forget that The Arsenal is a phenomenon which thrives on a combination of youth, skills and talent translated into competitive matches - basically to the level that enables you to reach the CL final like we did last year.
Now consider this: none of the teams with so called deep pockets managed that feat last year. And chances are they wont this time around - and that in part is due to the fact that their hyped-up superstars are overrated and secondly, they suffer from unprecedented pressure to live up to their billing on and off the pitch.
Of course one must have resources. By all means, let us all have financial resources. The key is in how you allocate those resources! Time and again, Wenger and his scouts have demonstrated utmost shrewdness in this area. Our policy is to buy a blend of talent and potential in these youngsters, bring them to The Arsenal, school them in the belief-comes-first attitude, and viola — out comes the world class soccer wonder boys. All that on a shoe-string budget. And most important of all, we are a family. Money can’t buy you values. But talent can certainly win you trophies and rake in gate takings. Starting this year, you’ll see the rewards coming through (not so much in the Premiership but certainly in Europe and the FA cup).
Belief my friends, comes first!
Karl, how you doing mate? You are obviously a fellow Red, but you need to stop listening to the propoganda coming from supporters of other clubs. I’ve been watching the Youth/Accademy and Reserve sides since 2001 and have been waiting with excitement for the bunch of youngsters who are going to emerge within the next 2 years. I was extremely pleased to read today that Sir Alex has made a statement of intent for next season. He has finaly signaled his meaning and opinion that the ‘next batch’ are ready to come through and that he has been waiting to bring them through together. He is talking about Rossi, Pique, Foster, Evans, Martin, Bardsley and Simpson. What is even more exiting is seeing some of the players that are just beneath these. Fabian Brandy, for example is the most exiting young player I have seen for many years. The next two years should see him strengthen significantly and then you will see a player the likes of which no one has produced in this country before. There are now some really breathtaking talents emerging at OT. All this rubbish about United being a buying club has been based upon one or two significant fees for some of our players. It is nothing at all like the five or six signings a season we have seen at clubs such as Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle.. and so on.
Sorry, I shouldn’t forget the two other Irish lads Sir Alex mentioned or mum will kill me! Sorry Craig Cathcart and Darron Gibson!