Miki is already known as captain in the dressing room, I believe even tv5 calls him that . The amount of respect he holds is immense , I don't want jack as captain yet as it'll be a hinderance to him atm .

I wouldn't be surprised if Arteta was given the armband. At the age of 30, give it to him for a couple of seasons, he'll hand it on to Wilshere as his career starts to wind down and Wilshere will be ~24 by then, won't have majority of the squad significantly older than him and will be better into the 'routine' of the leadership role.

Could also partly be that.... Veramealen has just never been that good a defender. Always been a little overrated by gunners fans IMO. Maybe the goals had something to do with it.

Only kamikaze during corners? You've been watching Arsenal too much mate because it was kamikaze for about 90 minutes/the whole season. Villa had several good chances during the first half which were not the result of a corner at the other end.

We need a defensive midfielder. Mikel Arteta is not a destroyer. Links to the likes of Tiote, M'vila and Diame don't happen without a reason. We need one.

Jack Wilshere is young, let him play football without that burden. Besides, we always sell our captains. Let's just not bother making our best player captain, please? He needs to be given a rest at some point by Wenger, I don't think he's managing him well.

Would you have arsenal sign diame?

Yes.

Poor man's Diaby? I can't imagine what that'd be like.

Arsenal legend Wright: £70M? Wenger needs £200M to fix things!
Submitted by tribalfootball.com on Sun, 02/24/2013 - 09:53

Arsenal legend Ian Wright says a mooted £70 million summer transfer budget isn't enough to fix the Gunners' problems.

Wright says Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger needs closer to £200 MILLION to get things right.

“70 million is not enough! If Arsenal are going to stay in the top four they are going to need £200 million or so to really compete and attract the right players. Losing Robin Van Persie was an unbelievable blow of course but the fact that they haven’t looked to replace him with a real top quality striker is hard to take,” said Wrighty.

“Arsenal can’t be in the market for £15 million players, they need to add a few world class £30 million plus players to start competing again. Players leave the club, it’s the nature of football, Thierry left, Nasri left, Robin left but Wenger needs to replenish the squad in the right way and he’s just not doing it at the moment. £70 million isn’t enough.”

IMO Diaby without the injuries hampering his career would be an absolute world beater. We've seen glimpses of it at times when he has relatively long periods of playing injury free.

Diaby has played what, 10 league games or so. It's the most we've ever seen of him in one season out of who knows how many.

Calf/Shin Injury   2013 February 23rd
Illness   2013 January 22nd
Thigh Muscle Strain   2012 September 29th
Muscle Injury   2012 September 7th
Calf Muscle Strain   2012 April 28th
Illness   2012 April 23rd
Hamstring Injury   2012 March 29th
Hamstring Injury   2012 March 3rd
Hamstring Injury   2011 November 26th
Ankle/Foot Injury   2011 July 22nd
Calf Muscle Strain   2011 January 2nd
Calf Muscle Strain   2010 December 30th
Ankle/Foot Injury   2010 October 19th
Ankle/Foot Injury   2010 October 4th
Ankle/Foot Injury   2010 September 13th
Calf Muscle Strain   2010 August 11th
Calf Muscle Strain   2010 March 27th
MCL Knee Ligament Injury   2010 February 17th
Calf Muscle Strain   2010 January 20th
Calf Muscle Strain   2009 November 7th
Ankle/Foot Injury   2009 October 10th
Groin Strain   2009 August 12th
Knee Injury   2009 July 27th
Thigh Muscle Strain   2009 April 1st
Calf Muscle Strain   2009 February 24th
Thigh Muscle Strain   2009 January 31st
Abdominal Strain   2008 November 22nd
Thigh Muscle Strain   2008 August 3rd
Thigh Muscle Strain   2008 April 25th
Calf Muscle Strain   2008 March 7th
Calf Muscle Strain   2008 February 8th
Back Injury   2007 November 22nd
Sprained Ankle   2007 August 14th
Concussion   2007 April 20th
Sprained Ankle   2007 February 25th
Knee Injury   2007 February 2nd
Ankle/Foot Injury   2006 May 1st

The figures show a profit before tax of £17.8 million. This was driven primarily by player sales of £42.5 million but the accounts also show an investment of £40.9 million in signing new players - Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud - and the extension of contracts for existing players.

The Club has extended contracts for Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson. More recently, the Club has signed Nacho Monreal from Malaga.

Football turnover dropped from £113.5 million to £106 million as a result of four fewer home fixtures compared to the same period last year. However, overall operating profits from the Club’s property operation increased to £1.9 million versus £0.5 million in 2011.

The Club has no short-term debt and continues to have a robust financial platform from cash reserves of £123.3 million. These were at £115.2 million in 2011.

The report also confirms the extended partnership with Emirates which will be worth up to £150 million. This comes in addition to deals with Airtel and Malta Guinness and additional sponsorship linked to the pre-season tour.

The Club has no short-term debt and continues to have a robust financial platform from cash reserves of £123.3 million. These were at £115.2 million in 2011.

No excuses for failing to keep our top players and failing to sign other top players.

Arsenal Financial Results – £123m Surge In Cash Reserves

Arsenal Financial Results – £123m Surge In Cash Reserves
By Amlan Majumdar on February 26, 2013

Arsenal have announced their half-yearly financial results, which has revealed a pre-tax profit of £17.8 million and an increase in their cash reserves.

The London club’s football turnover dropped from £113.5 million (from the last results) to £106 million, which primarily came down to the Gunners playing more home matches during this period last year.

Arsenal has faced enormous protests from the fans about the club selling their best players every season. Figures show that the club made a profit of £42.5 million from player sales; a massive chunk of the money was earned from the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. But the report also reveals the fact that the club has spent £40.9 million on transfer market themselves; which also includes renewal of player contracts.

Arsenal have bought in the likes of Cazorla, Podolski and Giroud at the start of the season, while Nacho Monreal was the latest addition during the January transfer window. The Gunners renewed the contract of seven players during the course of this season which included new contract for the likes of Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.

But questions will be raised about the club’s financial dependent of player sales. Arsenal wouldn’t have made that pre-tax profit had they kept hold of Robin van Persie. The club though is on a stable financial condition as of now with no short-term debt.

Arsenal cash reserve has risen from £115.2 million (last year) to £123 million this year. This will provide a huge boost to the club in the next transfer window amongst reports that Arsene Wenger will be handed over a £70 million transfer kitty next summer.

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood was delighted with the club’s financial results and pointed out that this gives the club ‘strength’ and ‘independence’. He also stressed on the fact that the club is intended on retaining its best players and pointed out the steps taken by Arsenal to secure the future of players like Wilshere and Walcott.

“Let me be quite clear that our intention is to keep our best players and recruit new talent to make us stronger. Although we were disappointed to see Robin van Persie leave the club, we have taken steps to secure our best players and have recently signed Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson to long-term contracts.

“Our ability to compete at the top of the game here and in Europe is underpinned by our financial performance which gives the Club strength and independence.

“Our desire is to make everyone connected with Arsenal proud of the Club. We know that comes through winning trophies but also through the way we do things and that will remain our constant guide.” – Hill-Wood was quoted in the press.

Arsenal Supporters’ Trust has urged to club to show better commitment in the transfer market as the club owes a lot to the fans who pay through their noses to watch match at the Emirates. In a statement released by the, the Spokesman said that the club needs to break its rigid wage structure in order to attract big names – instead of paying high wages to every player in the squad.

“These figures contain few surprises. They show that Arsenal yet again made a profit from the sale of their best players and that the club has large cash reserves. Arsenal fans have contributed to this financial health through paying some of the highest ticket prices in world football. A further improvement in the club’s financial strength is expected when new TV monies and commercial deals come on stream in 2013 and 2014. AST members want to see this money used for more, and better, investment in the team.

“The results also show the club does spend considerable money on wages, approximately £150m per annum. But the football decisions made on player investment, player selection and player wage levels are not delivering a more competitive team.

“The AST believes the club are financially well set to improve on the decline of the last few seasons. The remaining question is whether it has the boardroom leadership and football decision-making expertise to make the money count.” – A spokesman for AST told the press.

More promisingly, the club will soon announce an extended deal with the Emirates which is reportedly valued at £150 million. The London club has also entered new sponsorship deals with Airtel and Malta Guinness.

“The Emirates partnership is one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the game and is an endorsement of the commercial approach we are taking.” – The Arsenal chairman revealed.

Next summer will perhaps be the most important transfer window in Arsene Wenger’s career at Arsenal. The team is expected to undergo a major overhaul with numerous departures (of fringe players) and arrivals of big names. But whether the Gunners are able to qualify for the Champions League this season might decide whether they can attract big names to the Emirates next season.

http://www.thehardtackle.com/2013/arsenal-financial-results-123m-surge-in-cash-reserves/