Respect Arsenal’s right to have the very best
The good thing about the ‘Arsenal takeover’ debate is that we’ve been spared with the usual tosh (although the Sun is still trying it’s best).
The bad thing is that in the absence of any significant developments, speculation amongst fans has gone to overdrive.
Let’s get a few facts straight then:
- The agreement to not sell shares is a verbal agreement, not a binding legal contract.
- So far, no Kroenke bid has been made, so no one knows whether he will borrow or how much he will borrow.
- While David Dein is said to have known about the sale of ITV shares as well as the fact that Kroenke was slowly building up his stake, there is no indication that he was trying to subvert board members or go behind their back and sell out to Kroenke. At least not yet.
- David Dein’s presence was a massive boon for Arsenal - and his loss will affect them and the players.
- On the other hand, life goes on and Arsenal will be fine without him.
- The board have effectively kicked out David Dein, which means there were major issues between the two parties and they had been simmering for a long time. A reconciliation seems unlikely, as does Dein’s return to the board under any condition while the current board members are present.
- Arsenal have two options available to them.
One, they can let Kroenke take over the club and provide Wenger with the buying power to bring in players that will keep the team in the hunt for all four trophies will simultaneously developing the young squad (a balance is possible).
Two, they can reject the takeover and spend the next season (and maybe two) in pain as the kids develop and learn to play together while Wenger brings in one or two players on smart deals every summer.
Till then, however, there’s little chance of Arsenal successfully challenging for the Premiership title with the current squad in the next season and therefore the objectives will could change to CL qualification and success in Europe as opposed to winning the Prem AND European success.
Have I missed out on anything?
So let’s see what we can conclude from that.
Right now, it’s pointless trying to discuss the pros and cons of a takeover when you don’t even KNOW what the offer is going to be. Under certain conditions, a buyout can be beneficial to the club if it keeps people like Wenger (and possibly Dein) onside and there’s a commitment to the values that Arsenal espouses.
The thought that the board is going to unilaterally reject any takeover proposals is a big problem - it shows that they are unwilling to even consider other views on how Arsenal might benefit from investment. See the proposal and if it helps the club, then go with it.
There are some people who support Hill-Wood and co in rejecting any and all takeovers. Personally, I think that’s a great thing to do - it’s the tough choice, and because of that it has to be respected.
But with such decisions comes responsibility - for poor results and poor finances.
If the players know that, if the fans know that and if the board knows that - and if the players and the club are committed to the same cause (riding out the tough times so that the club stays in the hands of the few instead of the hands of one), then I’m all for it.
But please don’t reject the idea of a takeover because of a mistaken belief that the current board is somehow better suited to guiding Arsenal to success. Nor should the takeover be rejected because there’s a sense of the club being owned by Arsenal fans instead of greedy businessmen.
The people who are in the board? They are just politically correct versions of ‘businessmen’ owning the club. Just because the group has been around for a long while and has shown a personal interest in the club’s affairs (if you put in that much money in it you’re bound to take a personal interest) does not mean that they can do a better job for Arsenal or that if they own the club the club will remain ‘true’ to its roots.
In short, don’t reject the takeover because of emotional reasons based on false assumptions. See the facts, and take the best possible course of action FOR Arsenal. Not for your personal values, and not for yourself.
You love the club. Respect it’s right to have the very best, for the right reasons.
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Discussion - 9 Responses
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Your last fact is a little off. A takeover would be no guarantee of an injection of cash. I think the opposite would be true, in fact, as any takeover would likely be financed by borrowing on the club, increasing it’s debt to Glazer-like proportions. And you don’t have to look further than the Franchise United to see how spending has gone (though one could argue with the benefit of hindsight that they didn’t really need it this year).
Arsenal are so huge and well known worldwide - and have such a great brand - that somebody is going to buy them - and sooner rather than later - whatever the board says.
I am sorry irrespective of whether the takeover happens or not, this squad is more than capable of challenging for the title next year, and anybody who thinks not, seriously needs to look deeper and appreciate whats there. all we need to buy is an attacking LM with pace. The only other thing I would bring in is if a quality one came availble would be a RB or Keeper. But if you gave me the same bunch of players now and said they are all fit, i would put my money on them winning at least 1 or 2 bits of silverware next year. ignore at your peril.
Whether Arsenal is sold to Kroenke and all his money borrowed or not, Arsene wenger has stated he will not buy superstars and place them ahead of the younger ones, Arsene will continue to keep getting in young players and moulding them , so if Kroenke comes in i would see conflicts with Wenger and kroenke in terms of buying new players that are superstars. As long as Wenger is there and i hope he stays forever we dont need Kroenke so im all up for Kroenke not coming in for a hostile takeover. We are doing fine without him and our young men will be the best without being bought. We currently have the best young team in the world and we will soon have the best team worldwide, so i say to gunner fans be patient , its coming (when i cant say ,but i do feel we are progressing )
Ahmed i dnt know if ppl tell u this often,but u make a lot of sense,when you say “dnt reject a takeover bcos of emotional reasons”. when i first heard of the takeover, i,like the rest of us thought “bullsh*t”, but then it began to become more of a realistic prospect,at first i was not happy with the idea of a takeover bcos i ddnt wanna b like the other big 3 clubs, i wanted arsenal FC to be the one that did it differently but were still successful through their youth policy,but the more i think about it the more sense it makes, the current board members are businnessmen like Kroenke, so what would be worse a board of directors with money or 1 owner with money…if he happens to have a lot more money then them then great (like ahmed pointed out we dnt know the situation(if he has to borrow to buy or not)). Arsene Wenger has stated in the past that he will not buy “superstars”,but whats the problem with having a few extra quid in the bank.
I know arsene doesnt like it but PLEASE buy eto’o
we need to buy some engish players its driving me mad mate
i for one would welcome a takeover, not because i have any doubt that the board cannot run the club or because i dont believe the team are not good enough, but because the longer we hold out the other 3 of the ‘big 4′ will pull further away from us, not because they are run better or have better players/play better football (not many teams can play better football then us on our day) but because of the financial inputcoming from the owners.
also i know this may sound crazy but there are teams below us that can catch us in the near future, Aston Villa now have vast amount of money and a manager that i hold in very high esteem (i come from east glasgow and follow cetic as well as arsenal so martin o’neil is a legend).
a takover would be welcomed, not so we can silly spend like chelsea (wenger has more sense then that) but so we can progress. also because of the relationship between Mr Dein and Mr Kroenke, it would be a good thing, i heard that if Kroenke does take over then he would let David Dein run the club, what a dream that would be, Dein has been practically running the club for over a decade anyway and he is a favorite amoung the fans. it was a sad day when the news broke of his leaving.
a takeover would secure a lot of things, the managers position would be certain, if dein was to come in with Kroenke wenger would stay, the players’ future would be secure, if wenger stays the players will but more importantly i think Arsenals future as one of the biggest and best teams in Europe will be maintained.
also i feel it necessary to say that with the takeover we would leave tottenham looking even more into our arses as we continue to shit on them even more, not that we need a shed load of money to do that, we dont even need a full squad for that, leave that to the kids!! haha 2-0 and you fkd it up!!
a hostile takeover will only mess things up. The only worry is whether Wenger stays. We have shown we can win titles without much money, and honestly i think we are title material(disagree if you want) right now. I’ll go as far as the extend of saying that we can survive if henry leaves, and i dont think we need eto. There’s vanpersie, adebayor, walcott, brentner and that is enough. The only tying is that these players have to be fit, and if they are injured, they need to be replaced temporarily and that is where the junior players come in. The only problematic area was goal keeping and i think that too has been settled with fabianski’s arrival. So for now, the only question is whether Wenger will stay or not. Because if he’s leaving, there’s going to be a mass exodus, and that is scary…………..