Published: 22 August, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

HERE’S a question for all you Arsenal fans: Who is actually responsible for signing players at the club?

Is it Arsene Wenger?

Or maybe chief executive Ivan Gazidis?

Well an online blog creating quite a stir among Gunners’ supporters is asking just that, along with a number of ­other key questions that might just help explain why the north London club has stopped challenging for honours.

The Swiss Ramble blog is offering up a detailed breakdown including all kinds of graphs and pie charts that will leave supporters wondering just what is going on behind the boardroom doors at their beloved club.

Entitled Arsenal – Money Don’t ­Matter 2 Night, the column quotes the ­former Monaco chief executive Tor-Kristian Karlsen’s comments on Manchester City and Tottenham’s transfer activity this summer.

“I for one doubt it’s a coincidence that the only two teams in the Premier League with genuine sporting directors (or technical directors or directors of football, if you like) are the ones who have appeared the most prepared, structured and with clear strategies in their work in the summer transfer market.”

Comparing that with the summer activity seen at the Emirates, where Wenger has only added the free services of French Under-20s striker Yaya Sanogo to his squad, the blunt statement on the blog is: “If there is a modern, coherent transfer structure in place at Arsenal, then it seems remarkably well hidden.”

The article also explores Arsenal’s financial firepower.

When asked if Arsenal could pay a £25million transfer fee and wages of £200,000 for one world-class player Gazidis pulled no punches, “Of course we could do that. We could do more than that.”

The blog builds on this theory stating that the club’s spending capacity is £154million, significantly higher than any of their competitors.

It claims that Manchester United are Arsenal’s closest rivals with £71million; while an even more startling statistic is that the north Londoners have almost as much cash as the rest of the Premier League’s other 19 clubs combined, which is estimated at £181million. 

Be warned… it’s not an easy read for a number of reasons and isn’t one to rush. Check it out at: www.swissramble.
blogspot.co.uk and let us know what you think.