agree Willie. this spending program caught me by surprise, given we'd just come out of a period of laying staff off due to covid and we'd sank to the point of not even having Europa League money. in that context one would think we'd definitely be operating on a strict 'sell-to-buy' model, where the coach has to do more with less. things like writing off player sales, paying off contracts or the 50m purchase of a centreback when there's other gaps the squad all look a bit mad if you're operating on a strict budget. tbh thats how id been judging the buys under edu/arteta - in the context of finite resources where bang for buck had to be maximised. this may have made myself and others come across overly harsh sticklers with signings like white
instead the reverse has happened, and we're spending more than ever despite our financial situation. my judgement of signings has shifted accordingly now, because there always seems to be more cash available for spending, regardless of whether we're selling well or in European competition. there must be some capitalistic shadow play afoot, whether it's restructuring loan repayments so that we can delve deeper into cash reserves or some owners equity being put in, but it's definitely a big shift from the old days. in some ways the kroenkes deserve to have to foot the bill for such an extensive rebuild, they oversaw the decay that made the club stagnate so much
