Arsenal's apparent transfer policy:
Big arrivals since 2006:
- Olivier Giroud, c. £12,000,000, 2012 summer transfer window
- Lukas Podolski, c. £11,000,000, 2012 summer transfer window
- Santi Cazorla, c. £16,000,000, 2012 summer transfer window
- Mikel Arteta, c. £10,000,000, 2011 summer transfer window
- Per Mertesaker, c. £8,000,000, 2011 summer transfer window
- Gervinho, c. £10,800,000, 2011 summer transfer window
- Thomas Vermaelen, c. £9,000,000, 2009 summer transfer window
- Andrei Arshavin, c. £15,000,000, 2009 winter transfer window
- Samir Nasri, c.£11,000,000, 2008 summer transfer window (Now at Manchester City)
- Bacary Sagna, c. £6,000,000, 2007 summer transfer window
- William Gallas, c. £5,000,000 + Ashley Cole, 2006 summer transfer window (now at Tottenham Hotspur)
- Emmanuel Adebayor, c. £3,000,000, 2006 winter transfer window (now at Tottenham Hotspur)
Big exits since 2006:
- Robin Van Persie left the Gunners in the summer of 2012, for reasons left unknown to Arsenal fans, though the general consensus being that he wanted trophies.
- Samir Nasri left the Gunners in the summer of 2011, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, "I want trophies with Man City" translating to "I want more money".
- Cesc Fabregas left the Gunners in the summer of 2011, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, he wished to return to the club he supported as a child (and win trophies), Barcelona FC.
- Gael Clichy left the Gunners in the summer of 2011, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, "I want trophies with Man City" translating to "I want more money".
- Emmanuel Adebayor left the Gunners in the summer of 2009, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, a fall-out with the club and manager, presumably over his contract.
- Kolo Toure left the Gunners in the summer of 2009, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, Man City clearly offered a better contract and promised trophies.
- Mathieu Flamini left the Gunners in the summer of 2008, for reasons left unknown to Arsenal fans, though the general consensus being that the board had ballsed up his contract offer.
- Alex Hleb left the Gunners in the summer of 2008, for reasons made known to Arsenal fans, believing that Barcelona was the place for him to develop his promising career into a successful one.
- Thierry Henry left the Gunners in the summer of 2007, for reason made known to Arsenal fans, after struggling with injury, Henry sought a new challenge for his career, moving to Barcelona, but keeping Arsenal very close to his heart. He returned briefly on-loan in 2012, during the New York Red Bulls off-season. His statue sits proudly outside Emirates Stadium - a genuine club legend.
- Ashley Cole left the Gunners in the summer of 2006, for reasons made very known to Arsenal fans, after the club offered Cole a contract offer that seriously underestimated him as a world-class left-back.
Number crunching - the price of football
This weekend sees the Emirates open up its doors to Tottenham Hotspur, as part of the famous North-London Derby. On 26 February 2012, I managed to get a ticket as a junior member of the club's supporters schemes, and my ticket cost a very reasonable £18. However, since I am now not a junior member, should I wish to sit in the exact same seat as an adult member, the ticket would cost £62.
On 22 January 2012, Arsenal welcomed Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium, their first meeting since the dreaded 8-2 "Trafford-gate" incident. Similarly, as a junior member, my ticket sitting in the Upper tier was again, a reasonable £24. However, should I wish to watch the same fixture this season as an adult member, on 27/28 April, the cost would be £81.50.
All ticket prices for the Arsenal home matches are clearly displayed on the Tickets page of Arsenal.com
Living in an area which is predominantly West Ham territory (though a positive number of Gooners live in my locality), I am very well informed of the ticket prices for their home matches - £24 for a seat in the Bobby Moore lower against Arsenal. Now this may seem like a pointless comparison, but I believe that the sheer difference in price is concerning as a young football fan who struggles to count the cost of supporting Arsenal. To form a proper comparison, however, one must look at the prices of season tickets. To do this, I must compare Arsenal's season ticket prices with those of the Premier League Champions, Manchester City, and other clubs of a supposedly similar stature:
Manchester City season tickets - £425-£745
Manchester United season tickets - £532-£950
Chelsea season tickets - £595-£1250
Arsenal season tickets - £985-£1955
Arsenal FC can also 'boast' that they have the most expensive match-day ticket - a Category A fixture at the Emirates, seated in the Centre Upper, will cost £123.50.
The club's promises
The club, mainly the board, has promised season after season that Arsenal have ambitions, and do want to win trophies, and do recognise the constantly mounting cost of watching Arsenal FC. Something positive I can say about the board is the fact that they have listened, well sort of, to the Arsenal Supporters Trust, and have introduced a Category C type ticket price - for games like Southampton, Swansea, West Brom, Sunderland, Wigan - and that adult members can purchase a ticket for as little as £25.50. However, while they have lowered prices for a handful of games, they have risen ticket prices for both Category A and B fixtures, which, coincidentally, makes up the majority of Arsenal's home fixture list. In essence, the club has raised ticket prices, as they have done for consecutive years, but disguised it by introducing "cheap" prices for adult members. Furthermore, the club promised high-profile signings - in hindsight, the club has in part fulfilled this promise; however, the frequent departures of first-team players are never re-established, and some of the first-team spots are left to young, still-developing players.
Winning trophies. A promise or a distant dream?
When considering the Trophy haul of fellow clubs, the only way to compare Arsenal against other "big clubs" is to list the current list of honours since 2006.
Manchester City:
FA Cup 10/11
Barclays PL 11/12
FA Community Shield 2012
Chelsea:
Barclays PL 05/06 09/10
FA Cup 06/07 08/09 09/10 11/12
League Cup 06/07
FA Community shield 2009
UEFA CL 11/12
Manchester United:
Barclays PL 06/07 07/08 08/09 10/11
League Cup 05/06 08/09 09/10
FA Community Shield 2007 2008 2010 2011
UEFA CL 07/08
FIFA World Club Cup 2008
Arsenal:
Summary
Why are we angry? As Arsenal fans, it seems that in recent years, since 2006 at least, we have had to be contempt with Champions League qualification. Arsenal have been in two cup finals since 2006, both in the League Cup, both defeats to Chelsea (06/07) and Birmingham City (10/11) respectively. It would be unfair to not mention Arsenal's agonisingly close finish in 07/08, finishing just 5 points off the pace, and the few semi-final appearances Arsenal have made as well. However, much of the team that were part of these so-near-but-yet-so-far seasons have moved on to better, more successful clubs, and Arsenal's squad has been left to sag and replenish itself with below-par signings who simply don't fill the boots left behind. What's more, the fans have to pay astronomical prices to watch their non-successful team, and that is quite a bitter pill to swallow in the grand scheme of things. And as the years have rolled on, the fans feel more and more isolated from their club, as passionless board members, such as Ivan Gazidis, Peter Hill-Wood and Stan Kroenke, are more focused on the financial situation of Arsenal FC rather than the progress of the club, and refuse to communicate with Arsenal fans, leaving Wenger as the scape-goat for Arsenal's failures. As much as Arsenal like to think they are role-models for a perfectly ran football club, this simply cannot be said when the club are greeted by no successes in eight long years. In today's world, money talks, and Arsenal are definitely not famous for spending money...only its fans are.
Of course, I accept that people will disagree with my views, that is simple fact of life. If you do disagree with anything I have said, please feel free to message me your views, they are always valued!
However, if you do agree with my thoughts on the club at present, please join the "Where Has Our Arsenal Gone?" protest march on 1 December 2012, starting at Blackstock Road opposite the Gunners Pub; let's kick greed out of football.
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