Highbury Hillbilly wrote:The structure of the club has to change first. We are where we are because Arsenal were happy to make Arteta the main decision maker like Wenger was. We tried the DOF + head coach approach with Sven/Raul and Unai for barely a year before going back to the "manager as feudal lord" system
This is what baffles me.
The whole cold war between Gazidis and Wenger was for this. Gazidis wanted to install the Bayern Munich structure at Arsenal—with a DoF that instills the vision and sets the objectives, a Head Coach who implements it, and a Head of Recruitment/Technical Director that works as a buffer, whilst spearheading the overall recruitment of players and scouts. This particular system already existed in City, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
How soon we ditched this setup after sacking Emery is mind-boggling. It started sooner, after Gazidis left. Sanllehi got rid of Mislintat and that spiralled into a snowball, which made Arteta the wholesole runner of the show.
In hindsight, it all looks like one grand show orchestrated to get rid of Wenger. Gazidis leaving immediately after Wenger is also sus. I've read that AFTV now have a seat in Arteta's press conferences. Not sure if that's true as I don't follow their content. If anyone is in the loop, they could chip in.
In all of this, the endgame for the Kroenkes was the Super League. I still think that's the goal. UEFA has revamped the UCL to essentially allow top-5 clubs from Spain and England a twisted qualification. Let's see how far that goes.
There's no point blaming Arteta here, tbh. They offered Arteta an extension before the season ended. That was planned and calculated. They, more or less, forecasted that we wouldn't qualify for the Champions League, so did what they had to do when fan sentiment was at a high.
Frankly, we have to question the club and not Arteta here. They rode on Wenger's ethical appeal for as long as it was possible. And, now, I feel—my hunch—they are using Arteta in this transition between now and the eventuality of the Super League.
Let's not forget that the money we're splashing isn't a byproduct of our self-sustainability model, nor is it coming from Stan's pocket. We're taking loans to fund our recruitment. So, if shit hits the fans, KSE doesn't lose anything. Their exit is well-planned even if that's not ideal for them. KSE would receive £2.5-3b if they are forced to sell Arsenal. The debt becomes Arsenal's headache. KSE is well protected as long as we're not relegated.
They could have backed Wenger if they so wished. But they let him suffer with the self-sustainability model. Today, that provision is out of the window and we're sailing through debts to fund our transfers.
KSE's long game is brilliant from a business standpoint. They have their bases covered. And, they've deployed David Ornstein and Amy Lawrence strategically for their PR.
