Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has given the first hint he is starting to contemplate his legacy at the Emirates Stadium, suggesting he is determined to make sure he leaves the club in such rude health that his successor is more successful than he has been.
Speaking at a stormy edition of Arsenal’s Annual General Meeting, the 65-year-old insisted he is “absolutely committed” to seeing out his contract, which expires in 2017. The club’s chairman, Sir Chips Keswick, also made clear that he and the board remain convinced Wenger is the “best person to take charge of Arsenal for as long as he feels inclined.”
Wenger’s defence of his side’s recent Champions League record - in response to a shareholder’s assertion that performances in the last year against Monaco, Anderlecht and Olympiacos were “embarrassing” – was robust enough to indicate he is by no means ready to lay down the cudgels just yet. That the prospect of his eventual departure is on his mind for the first time, though, was clear.
“I am resolute and absolutely committed until the last day of my contract to bringing big success back to this club,” he told shareholders at the Emirates Stadium. “[I am committed] as well to leaving the club as well in a position where it can do even better when I leave. That is very important to me that I leave the club in the shape that [means] the guy who comes after me can do better.
“Looking back, I am proud we have won titles and FA Cups, but the first quality of a club is to be consistent. We have had 18 consecutive years in the Champions League. Only one club – Real Madrid – has done better. I can understand that is not enough. I am the first person to agree that it is not enough. We want more.
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“The performances [against Monaco, Olympiacos and the rest] were not good enough. But we have played more than 150 games in Europe. If you look at the percentages of games won in Europe, you will see Arsenal are in the top five. Look at the number of games Arsenal played in the Champions League before I arrived and after and come back to me.”
Like his chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, Wenger was quick to dismiss his reputation for parsimony in the transfer market, insisting he is “not scared to spend money” despite failing to add a single outfield player to his squad this summer. “I know I have that reputation,” he said. “We have shown in the last three years that if the player has the quality, we spend the money.”
Gazidis was more bullish still, suggesting Arsenal’s record in the transfer market “compares favourably” to all of their peers, despite refusing to engage in the “arms race” of many of their rivals in the Premier League.
For all the optimism, the meeting ended on an acrimonious note. The root of the problem was a £3 million payment to Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the investment vehicle of the club’s majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, revealed in the club’s accounts. The American was present at the meeting but refused to speak throughout.
Instead, Keswick was forced to deny the payment was equivalent to the sum paid by Sepp Blatter to Michel Platini which has resulted in the downfall of both at Fifa and Uefa, though he stopped short of offering a detailed explanation of what that £3 million got the club.
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“The best advice you can get is the quick advice from people who know more about the problem than you do,” he said. “That is precisely what we do at Arsenal with KSE. It cannot be codified. We get the best advice as quick as we possibly can. I am not Mr Platini. I am not Mr Blatter. There is not a written [contract]. Good advice is where you can get it.”