11m pounds back then was also a lot of money. A few years earlier, United had bought Cole for £7m. Wenger had as much money as United and far more than anyone else. He may have been an excellent scout but he was also packing stacks. He was probably poor against Real, Juve, Inter and Milan but ruled England.
Now his job is harder. For one, there is far more information and analytics, and a youth academy is not just some Dutch anomaly. Good players are taken at 17, not 23. Shaqiri plays in Stoke.
I think the venture game is almost dead in football. You might get the odd Bellerin, but look at our squad. There are only 4 good players (Ozil, Sanchez, Cech, Koscielny). Only one of those was a venture deal - Kos. The rest were established talents you pay big money for. The rest of the venture deals have largely not panned out. The best one is a frutatingly inconsistent Ramsey.
In short, you need to spend the big bucks. But don't be reckless like LVG.
