Ahead of what could conceivably be the final
season of Wenger’s 20-year reign at Arsenal, club scouts
have already been told that central midfield and central defence will be the priorities, as well as Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell and potentially a striker.
have already been told that central midfield and central defence will be the priorities, as well as Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell and potentially a striker.
With an extra £40 million from the Premier
League’s new TV deal also available, the club will also be in a position
to make massive contract offers for Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez.
Kieran
Gibbs, Mathieu Debuchy, Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky
are all likely to leave, while Wenger’s own longer-term future will
probably again be decided in the final months of a contract that expires
in June 2017.
Wenger
has had similarly healthy budgets in recent transfer windows but, to
the disappointment of many fans, the only two senior additions in the
past year have been Petr Cech and Mohamed Elneny.
Although Wenger’s position is the subject of
renewed debate following defeats over the past week against Barcelona
and Manchester United, the boardroom support for the manager remains
total.
Wenger, though, is now
working amid raised expectations following the decade from 2004 until
2014 when commercial income was restricted by building the Emirates and
it has become difficult to envisage the Frenchman himself wanting to go
on if his team are unable to sustain a Premier League title challenge
either this year or next.
The club have put thought into their planning
for Wenger’s eventual departure – chief executive Ivan Gazidis believes
that it will be Arsenal’s biggest challenge – but there is no timescale
and every indication is that he will only leave at a time of his
choosing.
Indeed, Wenger has been
hands-on in overseeing recent appointments to the club’s scouting
structure as well as the internal detail of a new multi-million overhaul
to the club’s training facilities.
He has also stressed, however, that he would
not want to continue if he felt that he should be getting more from his
team and that he might yet make an “instinctive and impulsive” decision.
Arsenal
are still only five points behind shock leaders Leicester City – and in
contention to win a third consecutive FA Cup – but the manner of the
3-2 defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday has renewed doubts about the
collective mentality.
A pivotal week now looms, with Arsenal hosting
Swansea City on Wednesday night before a derby against Tottenham
Hotspur on Saturday, which has the capacity to make or break their
season.
Wenger regards this as his
best squad since the ‘Invincible’ era and, although his thinking will
certainly be shaped by the next three months, he does not currently plan
a major summer overhaul.
The
club are ready to sell Gibbs and Debuchy, who have lost their status as
first-choice full-backs, while Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky will all
depart when their contract expires.
The first priority will be persuade Özil and
Sánchez to extend deals that expire in 2018 and, with Premier League
clubs to receive around £40 million more each year from the new
broadcast deal, they will be offered contracts that would make them the
highest paid players in Arsenal history. Özil, who is on
£140,000-a-week, and Sánchez, who is paid around £130,000, could both
command deals approaching £200,000.
Decisions
will also soon have to be made on Santi Cazorla, Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Per Mertesacker who
are also out of contract in 2017 or 2018. All four players remain likely
to be offered new deals, although various issues of form, age and
fitness will be taken into consideration and significantly improved
contracts are far from certain.
Arsenal’s
annual wage bill has risen considerably over recent years to £192
million and they basically run at ‘break even’ in terms of their income
and expenditure, meaning they could collectively still raise salaries by
something close to the upsurge in broadcast income.
Just under half of the existing £159 million
cash balance is also available for new players, with the remainder
needed for running costs and a debt service reserve for the longer-term
outstanding loans on the stadium.
It
leaves Wenger with money to spend this summer, although probably only
enough for one real ‘A-list’ signing in the mould of an Özil or Sánchez.
Wenger
would like to add Chilwell as a probable long-term replacement at
left-back for Gibbs and is also still interested in Ryan Sessegnon at
Fulham, but the main focus for new senior players is through the spine
of the team.
In central midfield, N’Golo Kante, Victor
Wanyama and William Carvalho are being watched and there is also
interest in Watford striker Odion Ighalo.
Borussia
Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another being monitored,
although whether Arsenal would ever be willing to match a reported
asking price in excess of £60 million is clearly questionable.
Wenger
is also aware that his two senior centre-backs, Laurent Koscielny and
Per Mertesacker, are both over 30 and he would like to strengthen that
area. Mertesacker is out of contract next year but a decision on his
future and a potential one-year extension will probably not be taken
until next season.
After such an alarming performance against
United, goalkeeper Petr Cech has urged perspective ahead of the Swansea
and Tottenham games. “If we win both, the table might look different
again,” he said.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/arsenal-boss-arsene-wenger-handed-75million-warchest-but-will-he-spend-it-34501050.html
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/arsenal-boss-arsene-wenger-handed-75million-warchest-but-will-he-spend-it-34501050.html
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