Arsenal usually find themselves making headlines for the wrong reasons midway through the campaign or towards the end of the season. However, a disastrous start to 2016-17 campaign has seen Arsenal make headlines already. The gunners began their new campaign with a 4-3 defeat against Liverpool. It once again raised questions about Arsenal’s ability to compete with the big teams. As the disgruntled Arsenal supporters make their voices heard, these are some of the three changes that Arsenal’s management could make to bring about a difference.
Lower Ticket Prices
For a team that has not won the league title in more than a decade, Arsenal continue to have extremely high ticket prices. Fans have been protesting against the ticket prices for quite a while. Arsenal’s decision to retain the season ticket prices for the 2016-17 campaign has been welcomed, but Arsenal still continue to have the biggest match day revenue figures according to Deloitte. Yet, fans have been receiving much less entertainment than their counterparts at Manchester City or even at Tottenham.
Allocate Substantial Transfer Money
There definitely seems to be an improvement at Arsenal with regard to the attitude towards spending. The club are no longer looking to sign youngsters with a view of later selling them on for a fat profit. Instead, they have signed experienced professionals who would slot in straight away like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. However, the last few seasons have proved that the club needs reinforcements on an even bigger scale. Arsenal’s net transfer spend over the last four years is around £150 million – the same figure spent by Manchester United in one summer!
The new TV deal for Premier League clubs is expected to bring in an additional £40 million from this season onwards. Much of this figure has to be reinvested in players if Arsenal’s squad strength matches that of their main rivals.
Departure of Arsene Wenger
This has been a grey area since Wenger has been hugely successful for Arsenal if football is not only about trophies. The club has become much more financially successful, while the Frenchman’s football philosophy has transformed the club into the most attractive in English football in terms of style of play. Sadly, the game is at a time when managers at top clubs are judged heavily upon trophies and Wenger does not seem to fit into the era of instant success.