Arsenal may increase wage cap to arrest decline
Arsenal fans, stunned by their team’s current decline, will be astonished by the Sunday Mirror revelation that Arsene Wenger is sitting on an incredible transfer fund.
After their 4-0 embarrassment at AC Milan on Wednesday, the Gunners were blown away by Sunderland in the FA Cup to ensure Gunners will endure seven years without a trophy.
All the while Wenger has been sitting on a £57 million transfer chest following the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri last summer.
In what may be a last throw of the dice to save Wenger's skin, Arsenal may finally decide to scrap their wage cap in a bid to keep their best players and attract stellar signings, according to the Daily Mirror.
The current limit is about £100,000 a week.
Wenger has been criticised for failing to buy big, although the board believe there are extensive funds available for transfer targets.
Nasri fetched around £22 million when he moved to Manchester City while Arsenal collected £35 million from Barcelona’s recruitment of Fabregas.
Arsenal's August signings – Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andre Santos – were brought in using funds already set aside for Wenger.
And there could be another £15 million injection in the summer from Paris St Germain. The French club and Barcelona are keen on midfielder Alex Song.
Wages have always been a stumbling block for Wenger with Nasri earning a reported £200,000 a week at City which Arsenal had no chance of matching.
That barrier is now set to be dismantled with the club’s having a sizeable war chest at Wenger’s disposal.
Wenger is to be given the green light to spend big – and pay big. The first beneficiary of any new policy is set to be prolific striker Robin van Persie.
The Dutch star has one year left on his current deal and Wenger should now be able to offer him the chance to almost double his wages as well as push for transfer targets like Edin Hazard of Lille and Mario Goetze of Borussia Dortmund in the summer.
The ‘cash is king’ approach has been evident in recent years – first at Chelsea, then at Manchester City and more recently at Paris St Germain who have been spending fortunes on transfer fees and salaries under former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Now, at last, Arsenal are set to join to the big league. Their current wage bill is among the highest in the country but that is because Wenger insists that all squad players earn comparable sums.
But because of the wage limits, he has not been able to pay the £150,000 a-week plus deals on offer at other clubs.
He competed with Manchester United for Phil Jones, Ashley Young and Chris Smalling last summer.
But the pay on offer at Old Trafford was a major factor in the trio going to join Sir Alex Ferguson’s young squad.
Without the wage restrictions, Wenger will at least be able to compete on a level playing field with the other big hitters after seasons of bargain hunting during the transfer windows.