Arsenal AGM: Arsene Wenger’s future is in jeopardy, ‘Silent’ Stan Kroenke wants the title this year, club can afford to keep Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez
From Arsene Wenger's contract to chief executive Ivan Gazidis's salary, few bases were not covered in the revealing meeting- here is what we learnt from Arsenal's AGM
ARSENAL’S annual general meeting was another dramatic affair this year.
From Arsene Wenger’s contract to chief executive Ivan Gazidis’s salary, few bases were not covered in the revealing meeting, which took place at the Emirates Stadium.
Here, we look at seven things we learnt from the AGM…
Arsene Wenger’s future IS in jeopardy
Manager Wenger’s contract expires this summer, and chairman Sir Chips Keswick refused to give any kind of timescale when talks might commence.
Keswick said: “We all recognise the fantastic contribution Arsene has made to club in last 20 years.
“We will sit down and discuss the future at the appropriate time but our focus is on maintaining the current run and competing for trophies.”
Stan Kroenke presents Arsene Wenger with celebratory painting
Silent Stan wants the title…this year
Majority shareholder, “Silent” Stan Kroenke kicked off the AGM with a rare moment of public speaking. He gave Wenger much praise and said the Frenchman was “one of the main reasons” he purchased the club, but ended his speech with the flatteringly-put ultimatum: “We would all love you to win the championship this year”.
‘Real leader’ Per Mertesacker is still captain
Per Mertesacker still has Wenger’s backing as Arsenal’s captain, despite him now being their third-choice centre-back.
Wenger said: “I have a group of leaders, five in the team and we can rotate quite easily. Mertesacker was chosen before he was injured and he has real authority whether he plays or not and high standards of quality of behaviour.
“He is a real leader and respected by everybody. We [also] have assistant captains – Koscielny and Cazorla.”
The club CAN keep hold of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez
Arsene Wenger said in recent weeks that the club would have to “break the bank” to keep hold of star players Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but today chief executive Gazidis insisted they can compete with Europe’s elite.
Arsenal have been forced to sell their top players in the past in order to balance the books.
Gazidis told the Arsenal AGM: “We have a good track record in recent seasons of retaining our key players, developing young players and attracting new players. We are now beginning to compete in terms of wages with some of those clubs around us. There is continual growth in investment in wages but also in transfer fees.”
Arsene Wenger loves a joke
Heard the one about Arsene Wenger starting his speech with a joke? The relaxed Frenchman kick off his speech with: “I would like to apologise for every minute I make you suffer in these 20 years but you don’t look too bad for people who have suffered for 20 years.”
Wenger believes Arsenal can win the title too
He said today: “I believe we have a competitive team in a very competitive league. If you look now, it is 20 points which means the championship will be decided between 82 and 86 points. And what we have learned since the start of the season is every game is a fight and you need absolutely to be at your best to win.”
Ivan Gazidis has full backing
There was much spoken about CEO Gazidis’s £2.65million salary with a £1m bonus. But chairman Keswick said: “Ivan is doing a first class job in leading the club. We are very fortunate to have him as a CEO.”