Gazidis: Financial stability is key

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis says the club’s good financial results will give them a platform for success on the field.

The North London outfit announced profits of 49.5 million pounds for the six months finishing at the end of November last year.

“All of the money that the club generates is available to be reinvested into the club and into the team,” Gazidis said.

“That is why these financial figures are important but I would never want to say that they are the most important thing. They are not – they are the platform for what we want to do on the field.”

Arsenal made 46.1 million pounds from transfers, mainly thanks to the sales of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City.

Losing those players, and the fact Arsenal are headed for their seventh season without a trophy, has led to criticism of the club, particularly after Arsene Wenger’s men were thumped 4-0 by AC Milan and then eliminated from the FA Cup in the space of four days.

Gazidis urged Arsenal’s supporters to back Wenger and confirmed money would be available to the French manager to strengthen the squad before next season.

“We do not talk about an exact figure and there is a very good reason why – because it would impact our negotiating position with other clubs and that would mean that we would not be able to do what we want to do as efficiently as we want to do it,” Gazidis said.

“But we do have money that is available.”

“We have to invest efficiently, we have to do it sensibly as we do not have the kind of money that other clubs have.”

“But we have enough I believe, if we do it well, to be able to compete at the very highest levels of the game.”

“We have a manager who has a fantastic track record over time of getting those types of decisions mostly right.”