To Dhairya Thakker...In defence of ARSENAL FOOTBALL CLUB...

Courtesy of....




Dear Dhairya Thakker.

I wish to take umbrage with you on your scathing blog, titled "Arsenal FC- Same Old Story…Or Worse?"

Firstly,the CEO Ivan Gazidas, conducted a Question and Answer session with the AST (Arsenal Supporters Trust) at the Emirates Stadium.

Ivan places a lot of importance on AST meetings. He says these types of forums are very, very good for understanding amongst the club and not just the differences of opinions, not when one is just talking about the Board, but also in and amongst. The more the communication there is the better, because they ALL care about the club, to achieve success and to achieve the same kind of things.

Its challenging in this environment where Arsenal has been "beaten up throughout the last few months, on a consistent basis". We need to take a big step back and think about how far the club has come and Ivan Gazidas reminded those present, about the achievements that the club has made and how proud they can be of the Emirates Stadium, the style of play that Arsenal are renowned for all around the globe also the financial stability that Arsenal has with the ongoing utilisation of their sustainable financial model and their strict adherence to it, I laud them and I applaud them.

Arsenal's independence and their ability to stand on their own two feet, the ability to say that they do not owe their success to an outside party and they can rightly espouse that their success is solely attributed to what Arsenal has built for themselves and by themselves. That sense of pride is what ALL at Arsenal can take from that, and that is what is most important.

The work that Arsenal does in their community, clearly indicates that Arsenal is more than just only about the first team that they put out on the pitch. It must also be remembered that Arsenal have just come off a very disappointing season, the broad range of things, the journey that Arsenal FC has been on and some of the things that Arsenal people can be proud of.

Of course coming off the end of the season, the CEO Ivan Gazidas just like Arsenal fans and supporters', shared a profound sense of disappointment, he said "We had a season that promised a great deal, which looked as though it could turn into a very special season for Arsenal, but in the end a familiar story began to tell itself over the last part of the season". It was very difficult for ALL at Arsenal to watch those matches and Ivan Gazidas like the AST members are emotionally invested in Arsenal's club. For him it is not just simply a job i.e. a normal CEO's position, sitting there watching those games are just as hard for him even as it is for the fans and supporters'. So he understands the feelings of the fans and supporters' as they all went through the season. So it is very clear he says, that Arsenal had some shortcomings.

During this 'Close Season', we are going to see some turnover of some players, some new signings coming in and some of Arsenal's existing squad players going out. It will indeed be a very busy close season for AW.

Arsenal still has a young squad and it needs to be recognized that all has not been doom and gloom or a disaster and Ivan clarifies that "we don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water". The trick will be identifying which parts to keep and which parts the club needs to turnover, and how the club can achieve that within their financial capabilities.

Ivan Gazidas' job as Chief Execitive is "to always keep a balance between different and sometimes conflicting or competing aspects" of Arsenal. First and foremost Arsenal Football Club is a 'Social and Cultural Institution', but at the same time in oreder to fulfil its responsibilities, to be that and to be the best that it can be and to deliver on its values and to deliver the excellence that they expect, and bearing in mind that Arsenal has to be "a good and sustainable business". The reason that Ivan Gazidas talks about the business side is because partly thats his job but he does not wish to devalue the importance of that, partly because it underpins and provides a platform for what occurs upon the pitch and that is the real objective. The short-term and the long-term is what the club does today, and the ability to sustain that over a long-term. It is relatively easy to be a hero in the short space of time but not so easy to keep that going.

Because Arsenal have a self-sustaining financial model, its important that Arsenal develops their revenue streams and Arsenal are well behind other clubs in revenue. Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid are what Arsenal are expected to compete against in revenue. On the revenue side Arsenal have to make sure that they do so in a "responsible and sustainable way" and on the spending side again competing with clubs that spend far more than Arsenal including those clubs but also clubs who have a totally different dynamic, Manchester City, or Chelsea or others. It is critical for Arsenal to make spending as efficient as they can make it.

Arsenal are not by no means perfect, but they are pretty good at doing efficient at spending as well, though Ivan Gazidas says "that would be a subject of debate as well". In the end its about putting the best on-field team that Arsenal can possibly can. Its against that background of balance that Arsenal took a decision on ticketing prices, a question that many AST members have. That balance since the move to the Emirates Stadium has led Arsenal to take only 2 price rises in 6 years, there is no other club that has taken that approach. There has been no other club like the demand that Arsenal has or of the size that Arsenal has so they have been very restrained and balanced, so overall in Arsenal's ticket price increases, that is a long overdue requirement (though I myself were rather annoyed at Ivan Gazidas for putting what I call, the 'Cart before the Horse', he via Arsenal.com had stated that he wished the Football Governance select committee to address the ticketing issue as he said the rises were driving the young fans' from the stadium and he attributed the price rises to Player transfer fees and Player salaries - Both were inextricably linked. He was going to make that his objective, to get the young fans' back into the stadium and about a month later...Arsenal raises their ticket prices, whereas Liverpool FC acted upon what Ivan Gazidas preached). There's no question that Arsenal could have driven ticket prices higher, they do have long waiting lists in all categories but because they have not done that, there's been an expectation that ticket prices will not go up and therefore against that background Arsenal introduced an inflationary rise of 4 percent which Ivan Gazidas says "was received badly, obviously there was a fan reaction to that". However, he acknowledges that and continues to maintain that looked at in context that was a reasonable and responsible decision when Arsenal were and are balancing and trying to achieve on the field and what they are trying to do with respect to their relationship, an important relationship with their fans. The fans are both demanding rightly, that Arsenal must WIN TROPHIES, and they are also demanding that Arsenal has a responsible relationship with them. Again that is a balance.

Just to give you Dhairyato a couple of facts...The utilities in the Emirates Stadium in the last 2 years has risen 100 percent, Arsenal's Electric has risen One-Third, costs are going up dramatically, and Arsenal understands that they are also going up in peoples lives, and Arsenal does not ignore that and Ivan Gazidas thinks there is a real issue there and he is sensitive to it. However, he says "it is unrealistic for Arsenal to hold ticket prices absolutely steady" and at some point they have had to take an inflationary increase an expected unpopular decision but it was taken because of that self-sustaining cycle that Arsenal are in where their revenues drive what it is able for them to put upon the pitch for the fans to watch. 

Ivan Gazidas does think that Arsenal's ticketing approach needs to be more flexible and more sophisticated and they are devoting a lot more resources to that but it is a difficult task because a lot of it is technology driven and takes time to develop.

Arsenal also have a broader drive  with respect to revenues so that they can have less reliance on the revenue that they have at the stadium and more flexibility than they have on ticket revenue so Arsenal have been investing in their commercial side and they are beginning to see some green shoots there. 

 Arsenal will be touring internationally this year, they now have a world class team in place so they have the capabilities to start delivering on those revenues. The ultimate aim of course for Arsenal Football Club is not for profit but its pride, its pride in the 'Arsenal Way' and the end objective is Pride In Winning Trophies.

So  Dhairya, I firmly believe in 'Not Putting The Cart Before The Horse', but wholly becoming 'Informed' because that is what financially prudent and wise people and/or organisations do, to remain in business and to not saddle a club with huge debt.

                                                                                        Me Siena to...

                                                                                    You..Dhairya Thakker