Are Arsenal Just A Stepping Stone Now For Wannabes?

Ian Wright the Arsenal legend thinks so in his weekely Sun column.....

"I am constantly asking myself if Arsenal are now seen as just a stepping stone
for wannabe great players and no longer the place where world class players are
happy to see out their careers"

"Dennis Bergkamp was an immense presence who helped attract the likes of Viera,Henry,
Ljungberg,Pires,the list is endless but who can fill that role now and who is the magnet to attract the best?"

"Top class players are bought not only for what they bring the team but for the wow factor too....
you want to give fans a sense of anticipation for the new season,a feeling that they cant wait for it.
I'll have to be brutal here and say that I sadly dont feel that way about Arsenal with this new season"

What do you think about Ian wrights comments?...Are Arsenal just a stepping stone now for wannabes?

as a rule i tend to disagree with everything Ian Wright says because the bloke is a complete and utter idiot.

however, if Arsenal are, as he says, a stepping stone then Arsenal fans need look no further than their own ugly skeletor manager Mr Wenger. he himself has come out in the papers (not in that way J-Axe, put your pants back on) and said pretty much just that.

he said Arsenal will continue to buy cheap in order to sell at a profit so to me that indicates a clear policy of enhancing a young career and reaping the financial benefits. in an age of ever increasing TV revenue and all the huge sponsorship deals that come with it anbd money spinning pre season tournaments and Champions League money just how can Mr Wenger justify this ludicrous statement?

Arsenal have always been a tremendously run football club from top to bottom (barring the George Graham incident!) and as such have always been on a sound financial footing. they make profit in the transfer market, have huge worldwide appeal so merchandise sales must be high, they earn millions of pounds in gate reciepts each game and have a steady wage structure. how on earth does all this translate into buy low sell high? something does not add up. how and why would the board sanction a new stadium without the financial package in place to ensure the club itself never suffered? how much have Emirates paid towards the stadium?

my guess is that Arsenal are genuinely struggling to bring in top names and use this financial restrictions as an excuse to keep fans and players content. how long will Fabregas remain at a club that have not won a thing for years? ditto numerous other players.

Arsenal appear on a slide that appears solely of their own doing and it baffles me. i hear all this 'in wenger we trust' nonsense but if people looked a little deeper and thought abouit the points i briefly mention then there are many more questions than answers. im sure you can all draw your own conclusions.

to answer the topic title directly - Are Arsenal Just A Stepping Stone Now For Wannabes? then i would say perhaps not yet, but in another couple of years, should they remain trophyless then it is inevitable. i for one will not have an ounce of sympathy for them and their fans deserve all the heartache that i predict will come over the forthcoming seasons for the arrogance and disrespect they have shown just about everyone over the past few years.

Arsenal are in debt to the tune of £327m. They are under very tight financial constraints and will be for some considerable time in spite of the massive increase in turnover from the new stadium. They can not afford to compete in the transfer market and they can not afford to pay players TOP wages. They are on a downward spiral and will not be a top 4 side for very much longer. That is reality. It's hard for Arsenal fans to face and accept but it is an inevitable fact. I expect Liverpool to overtake them either this season or next to become the number 3 club in the EPL. Spurs will usurp Arsenal as a top 4 side.

Soon.....they won't even be a stepping stone.......they will become another West Ham or Newcastle....just making up the numbers.

you gotta try harder than that for a bite!

nice edit Roo

I disagree that they will slip. Had they not slipped up in the last ten games they'd of won the league last year. They played brilliant football, the best in the league.

I think a lot of what steely said is quite valid it pains me to say ,not because it's very possibly true ,but it's against my moral standard s to agree with anything he says.

If they are in debt by the numbers mentioned ,then i find that outrageous.
Like i said before i think Arsen is counting the day's .I think he's already promised a job in France whenever he is ready, and if the info is true above then i think it's even more likely that he will be off within two years. That's why he not as angry about loosing two of his best performers this season.
It's a sad development and Wenger and the quality of football he brought to the prem will be missed.

Middle east investors are a must ,to enhance the Spurs rivalry even more.

I dont think they are a stepping stone, but there's no doubt they have been hurt by loyalty problems. The departure of Flamini was particularly painful for the goon.

The main thing I still don't understand is if we are so badly in debt, why did we sell Hleb for so cheap and why did we not sell Adebayor for 30million Euro's when we had the chance? Surely this money could have been used to strengthen the squad. But as for now, I sadly agree that Arsenal is a stepping stone and the only talent we have on the team that could change that is Cesc. If he stays and becomes the seasoned footballer we all know he could become, one of the best in the world, he could attract the other players we need to rebuild the squad... but if we remain trophyless, I dont see Cesc staying for more than 2 more years.

Oh no flamoney and pleb have left us what are we going to do! i guess its championship football for us from now on!!

Your phoney laughter can't hide the truth.......you are sh*tting your self

for all the good quality posts that Roonanialdo writes , there are always the odd few where he talks complete and utter b******s ...

i`ll give a proper reply later .....have to go for now ...

I assume you are referring to my original post conner........it's merely my opinion.......if you don't like it.....then do your best to shoot it down

Here's my summary:

Arsenal are in debt to the tune of £327m.

They are under very tight financial constraints and will be for some considerable time

They can not afford to compete in the transfer market and they can not afford to pay players TOP wages.

They are on a downward spiral and will not be a top 4 side for very much longer.

BUMP!!!!!

I wait in anticipation of conner's reply.

Playing the most attractive,attacking football in the world with stepping stone players?Not bad and whoever comes into the team plays the same way.Its funny how so many people have a pop but all Arsene Wenger is saying is if people come in with huge offers for players he has paid peanuts for then why not sell and reinvest?And he doesnt sell everyone.Fabregas,Clichy,Toure,van Persie and others have been there for ages and other clubs sell players at a loss like Man Utd with Veron! Also those players never go to Man Utd,Liverpool or Chelsea so i think he sells when they are are no longer needed or he has a replacement.How many players do well after leaving Arsenal to to supposedly better teams?

The Gunners are in real trouble with Fabregas now injured. They will never reach the form of last season with Fabragas, Hleb and Flamini missing from the line up. Having to throw in young Aaron Ramsey against FC Twente emphasises their plight.

I think Ramsey will do well and he is an exceptional talent.A 5m buy and one of the best teenagers in the country is hardly a risk and id rather that was against fc twente and west brom.He has to play sometime and fc twente arent even championship standard and hedve played west brom or teams of that standard in the championship plus we also have denilson and djorou can play as a holding midfielder so that is a decent central midfield.Its not our best but not doom and gloom that people are making out.

Ramsey looks to be an exciting talent, but he's not ready to go week in week out.