https://www.football365.com/news/arsenal-calum-chambers-roma-jose-mourinho-shock-transfer
However, after the move from Highbury to the Emirates in 2006, Arsenal lacked funds and struggled to remain title contenders, despite staying in the top four every year until Wenger’s penultimate term.
“It changed completely the landscape (the move from Highbury) because we had limited resources to maintain the club at the top level,” the Frenchman added
“For me personally, it’s my biggest achievement at the club, to remain – people speak only when you won – but we were three times second, five times third, six times fourth and that consistency is the most difficult with the limited resources that we had at that time and I’m very proud of that.”
This is an example of where AW loses me with his selective memory/half truths/smoke and mirrors.
He has spoken previously about the time of restricted finances being from the move in 2006-07, to the new commercial contracts that began in 2014-15. During this time his record is 1x 1st; 0x 2nd; 3x 3rd & 5x 4th. None of the parameters involving the stadium project (2000 - finances, 2003-04 start of construction & 2006-07 the move), meets the numbers given by AW. The ONLY way AW has 5x 3rd is to include his shortened 1st season at the club where he missed the start of the season. Likewise his 6thx 4th was the last season before the move and he only finished 2nd 1x after the move.
Yes I'm nit picking as he's still being The Spin Dr & making false/embellished claims to make his record look better than it was after the move. He also fails to mention that he also maintained generating pre-tax operating profits in most of those seasons, & that he did so primarily by player sales (and then not directly reinvesting all those funds back into the team). Our revenues per season increased by about E100m after the move; another E70m in 13-14 and another E80m in 14-15 following the new commercial deals, (peaking @ E487m in 16-17 before dropping below E400m as we fell out of UCL and then UEL).
As such his 'biggest' achievement is more about supporting/sustaining the financial model that allowed the shareholders to not need to invest any funds into the club, and the BoD to not grow commercial deals beyond the traditional match days sponsorship during most of that time. Our biggest increases in revenue post the move prior to the new deals (after the 10 year lock down), was achieved by increases to ticket prices.
Yes he is still our most successful manager and his legend status is assured via The Invincibles, but his legacy does not live on on or off the pitch and much of his 'sacrifice' during those years has subsequently been made pointless with our demise that began under his tenure. Similarly the new stadium has failed to achieve any of it's footballing objectives, and the only outcome it has succeeded in has been to increase match day revenues via increased attendances and ticket prices.
