Arsenal supporters seem to have reached the end of their tether with the club’s owners. A number of supporters group got together recently to protest the way that owner Stan Kroenke is running the club.
From the outside, it looks like the Gunners current owners are not particularly interested in moving the team forward. Without knowing the workings of the club or behind the scenes, it seems the owners are only interested in making money from the club.
Struggling to sign players
The Gunners are in a mess in many ways. Firstly, there is a lack of new signings, which is unsurprising considering the recent history of the club. The mooted transfer budget of £45million, may or may not be true.
However, it is clear that the Gunners will not splash a lot of cash this summer. The north London outfit has struggled to agree on fees for Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney and Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. They have simply been unable or unwilling to agree deals to sign their reported targets.
These sorts of difficulties make it very difficult for Gunners head coach Unai Emery heading into the new season. The Spaniard helped the team move forward slightly last season. However, it feels it like he is fighting with his hands tied behind his back.
Koscielny situation a mess
To make matters worse, club captain Laurent Koscielny has gone on strike in an attempt to move back his homeland. The 33-year-old has a year left on his contract, but he reportedly wants to leave on a free transfer.
This is a strange situation, considering he is contracted to the club from north London. Koscielny seems to have been badly advised by his representatives. His camp has handled the whole thing in a woeful way. He could have handed in a transfer request, without refusing to travel of the team’s tour of the US.
The centre-back is still a decent player. However, he is not irreplaceable at Arsenal, but the problem is the Gunners do not appear to have the financial power to bring in a replacement. The club from north London has also struggled to bring in better quality centre-backs in recent seasons. That means losing Koscielny is a big problem.
The sale of the Frenchman is unlikely to raise a big fee, which leaves a hole that they cannot afford to fill, well not with the reportedly transfer budget. It is just another mess for club officials to deal with.
Expectations have changed at the club
Just a short few years ago, Arsenal were Premier League title challengers. Their aim was to win the top-flight title. Now their aims and expectations have lowered due to the lack of investment in quality in their squad.
Now the Gunners are even outsiders to make the top-four, as they are odds of 5/4 to finish in the Champions League spots next season. Emery’s team came close to finishing in the top-four last season. However, that was in spite of the lack of investment. If they do by some miracle finish in the Champions League spots next season, then it will be due to other team’s failings or the managerial acumen of Emery.
The situation at Arsenal is not ideal. The Gunners are one of the biggest clubs in the English game, traditionally anyway. The fans are sick of the club failing to invest in quality and letting the standards slip.
Arsenal are certainly not heading into the last few weeks of the transfer window in great shape. Hopefully, for the sake of the fans, they can bring in some new additions. However, there seems to be a feeling amongst the supporters that the team will not progress until there are major changes at the top of the club.
Can Arsenal move forward in the near future?
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