Arsene Wenger said today that Stan Kroenke’s stake is an investment, not a takeover.
He insisted that the old Arsenal is intact and ongoing.
The things that make Arsenal FC different to other clubs still remain, and must remain, said the Professor.
At his Friday news conference, Wenger said, “I don’t think the club needs a big investment. This team has shown they can beat everybody and that it is part of their growing process. There is a huge potential here. I don’t feel at the moment the needed solution is more money.”
This team couldn’t score in two games against Blackburn in the FA Cup! Beat everybody? You’ve won two of your last nine games ! You’ve won two of your last nine games and one of those was a flukey 1-0 win at Aston Villa, who are dire. This lot couldn’t beat CSKA Moscow or Everton, let alone Chelsea or PSV Eindhoven.
“In the longer term, it’s always better that you produce your own resources and for us, with a new stadium, I feel in the near future the club will be capable of competing on its own resources.”
In the near future? How long is that? Three years ?
On Stan Kroenke, he said. “It’s just somebody who has bought shares. You have to wait in the future to see what his intentions are. At the moment, he has come out and said he does not want to buy the club, he wants just a partnership and that should not change anything inside the club at the moment.”
Why would a billionaire spend $120 million? For a laugh?
“It’s important Arsenal maintains its values because they are what makes the club so popular and that is beyond any investment. The club must maintain the values we have always had here – of human class, distinction, respect for people and ambition to have a certain class in what you do. That’s what I felt when I came to this football club. There was fair play, a desire to do things well and basic human values. It’s a daily struggle to keep those values.”
Arsene, you’re in denial. The directors want to sell. Respect for people? Beer at £3.20 a pint? Rubbishy cheapo-cheapo clothes in the Armoury?
“What I like inside at this club is that we have maintained our values, we show we care about our fans and we care about people who love the club.”
Selling replica shirts with Fly Emirates logos that peeled off, selling them from August to February? That was not respect for people who love the club. That was contempt for people who love the club. That was a job for the BBC’s Watchdog ! But the club somehow got away with it.
Wenger also said Thierry Henry is staying.
Of course Henry wants to stay. He will never knock on your door ! You’re paying him £15 million over the next three years ! He does what he likes ! He can’t be pampered like this anywhere else !