During the weekly conference call between all employees of Arsenal, Raul Sanllehi reportedly informed staff that this summer will not see the big spending on transfers that precious summers have.

Whilst this is entirely predictable, some fans have used this information to bash the club, Raul, Edu and Stan Kroenke. These fans are deluded.

Having agreed a 12.5% pay cut with current players that will make Arsenal an annual saving of £30m, it would then be ludicrous to think that the club would then go out and spend big on new players.

If Arsenal did go out and spend £100m on new players, adding an extra £15-20m to the current wage bill, players would be in their right mind to question why they have been asked to sacrifice their own wage.

Before the wage bill increases from its current position of 12.5% below what it prior to the outbreak, Arsenal should firstly restore players wages to 100%.

If they can find £20m in wages for new players, it will not sit well with current players who have taken the hit.

Things do change if players are sold. That frees up salary to be used on new players – as long as those players come in with a contractual agreement to take a 12.5% pay cut.

Selling before investing will ensure the wage bill does not rise above what it is after the 12.5% pay cut has been factored in.

Those moaning that Arsenal will not go out into the transfer market and spend £100m really need to give their head a wobble and realise what is happening in the word.

The ArsenaL Supporters Trust estimate that a season behind closed doors will cost the club around £144m.

That figure is made up of £100m in match day revenue (gate receipts, merchandise, food and drink) and £40m in commercial deals (match day sponsors).

That is a huge chunk of change Arsenal are set to miss out on. And that is without factoring in any loss in European broadcasting revenue.

And it is not just Arsenal facing these issues, but every club in the Premier League – even Manchester City.

The worldwide economic fall out from Covid19 is going be as bad, if not worse, than the global recession that started in 2008.

Across summer and January transfer windows, Premier League transfer spending increased by 252% in the space of 5 years.

From Roman Abramovich buying Chelsea in the summer 2003 through to the January 2009 transfer window, Premier League transfer spending increased at an unprecedented rate – and it was not only due to the Russian firing cash from his tank.

Increasing domestic broadcasting throughout the 00s and the explosion of overseas revenue meant Premier League clubs had more to spend than ever before. Than it came to a sudden stop.

From spending a combined £670m in the 2008/09 season, transfer spending dropped to £480m for the 2009/10 season as clubs get the credit crunch. This was a drop of around 30%.

It would take 5 years for the Premier League to return to their pre-recession spending: in 2013/14 £760m was spent across the 2 transfer windows.

What is more incredible about these figures is that it was 2008 when Sheikh Mansour bought Manchester City.

From Summer 2009 – January 2013, Premier League clubs spent £2.2b on new players. Manchester Spent £409m, or around 20% of total Premier League spending.

Were it not for Manchester City spending £125m in 2009/10, Premier League spending would have dropped by 50% from the season previous season.

The price of oil has plummeted during the Covid19 pandemic due to people driving and flying less. This will mean that even Manchester City will have to be careful with what they spend.

It is also unlikely that Newcastle will prop up the transfer market with their new Saudi owners like Manchester City did post-2008.

You see, the financial crisis football is facing isn’t just Stan Kroenke. It is Raul Sanllehi trying to do things on the cheap. It is real. And it is going to affect every club across the world.

Teams are going to have to work with reduced revenues. That will result in less money for transfers, less for wages.

2009/10 Manchester United spent just £21m. 2 years earlier they had spent £61m. That is a 65% drop. Arsenal drop from 2007/08 (£31m) – 2009/10 (£10m) was 67%.

If the world follows a similar path now to the recession, expect Arsenal’s spending to drop from the £153m we spent in 2019/20 to something closer to £50m a year for the foreseeable.

2019/20 has seen clubs spend £1.6bn on players. It saw newly promoted Aston Villa spend £143m, and 8 clubs spend over £95m. And that excludes Chelsea on a transfer ban and a Liverpool spending less than £10m.

Do not expect to see a return to these eye watering figures for a few years. At Arsenal or anywhere else.

Keenos

Appearing in front of the Commons Home Affairs Committee today, Priti Patel answered MP’s questions about her department’s plans for the Government’s exit strategy.

Talking about lifting the lock down, the Home Secretary stated that she “would expect social distancing in every single work area” beyond restrictions being lifted in the coming weeks.

Continued social distancing rules in every work place would make it impossible for football to restart.

She told the committee’s MPs: “There is a lot of work that is taking place and there are lots of assessments.

“Even before people go back to work there is a job to do yet in terms of securing workplaces.

Questions

History
1) What was the name of the league Arsenal played in during World War 1?
2) Which Arsenal player won 78 caps for England playing cricket?
3) What was the transfer fee that Arsenal paid for Malcolm Macdonald?
4) In 1936, the BBC broadcast their first ever live game. Who were Arsenal’s opponents?
5) What did Arsenal become the first club to do in 1992/93?
6) How many times have Arsenal won the FA Cup Final in Cardiff?
7) In 1918, the US Navy played Epsom in what sport at Highbury?
8 )In what year did Arsene Wenger claim “It’s not impossible to go through the season unbeaten”?
9) What was the name of Arsenal’s official 1998 FA Cup Final song?
10) What is the real name of Highbury?

Nicknames
1) Whose nickname was Mr Arsenal?
2) Whose nickname was Ralph?
3) Whose nickname was Rocky?
4) Whose nickname was Sid?
5) Whose nickname was Iceman?
6) Whose nickname was Geordie?
7) Whose nickname was Safe Hands?
8) Whose nickname was BFG?
9) Whose nickname was Le Professeur?
10) What was the Highbury nicknamed?

Defenders
1) How many games did David O’Leary play for Arsenal?
2) How many league titles did Tony Adams captain Arsenal to?
3) Who captained Arsenal’s 1971 double winning team?
4) Which defender became the first Arsenal player to captain England in 1934?
5) Prior to Ian Wright joining the club, which defender was Arsenal’s regular penalty taker?
6) Which overly eager 21 year old took out Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger whilst on trial?
7) What shirt number did Sol Campbell wear in his 1st spell at the club?
8) Martin Keown had 2 spells at Arsenal. What two sides did he play for between?
9) Who did Arsenal buy off Crystal Palace for £1million and Clive Allen?
10) Who turned up to Gilberto Silva’s daughters birthday party wearing a tiger suit?

1930’s
1) How many times did Arsenal win the Football League during the 1930s?
2) In 1931, Arsenal won 9-1 – our biggest ever victory at Highbury. Who were the opponents?
3) Which was the only side of Highbury that the clock was not positioned on during the 30s
4) Who took over as caretaker manager after Herbert Chapman died?
5) Which Third Division team knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1933?
6) Which player joined Arsenal in 1938 for a world record transfer fee of £13,000?
7) Which French team did Arsenal play in November every year throughout the 1930s
8) Which Arsenal goalkeeper scored in the game against Everton in March 1935?
9) During what season was Gillespie Road station renamed Arsenal and white sleeves were introduced to the Arsenal home kit?
10) Other than Highbury, on which ground did Arsenal twice win the Football League?

First and Last
1) Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry’s first league goals were all against which team?
2) Who scored Arsenal’s last competitive goal at Highbury?
3) Who scored Arsenal’s first competitive goal at the Emirates?
4) Arsene Wenger’s last game in charge was against which team?
5) John Jensen’s first and last goal for Arsenal was against which team?
6) Who scored our last goal in front of a terraced North Bank at Highbury?
7) Tony Adams played his first game for Arsenal in 1983. Who were the opponents?
8) At 33 seconds, which Arsenal defender became the quickest player to be sent off on debut against Birmingham in 1997?
9) Liam Brady’s last game for Arsenal was against which team?
10) Who scored our first ever goal in an FA Cup Final?

I also played for…
1) Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Chelsea
2) Brentford, Caen, Le Harve, Dundee, Chelsea
3) ASEC Mimosas, Bereven, Galatasaray, Sunderland
4) Schalke, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, VFB Stutgart
5) Notts County, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Beijing Guoan
6) Marseille, AC Milan, Crystal Palace, Getafe
7) Wimbledon, West Ham United
8) West Ham, Blackburn Rovers
9) IFK Eskilstuna, Stabæk, Brentford
10) Stoke City, Torquay United, Sunderland

Who is a naughty boy?
1) Who famously got in trouble after letting off a fire extinguisher in a Hornchuch pizza resturant?
2)In 1995 who was fined $4000 after pleading guilty to punching a mini cab driver in Hong Kong ?
3) Which former player was convicted of keeping a brothel ?
4) Who was jailed for conspiracy to produce counterfeit money ?
5) Which player ended up in court over a stolen bag at an airport ?
6) In 1990 which player went to jail after drink driving?
7) On 17 September 1988 Paul Davis broke whose Jaw?
8) Who was the Norwegian agent that George Graham took an “unsolicited gift” from?
9) In Feb 2014 who got into trouble for bringing model Celia Kay to his room the night before a game?
10) Which Scottish international was banned for life by his country before he had even played a game?

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Answers

History
1) What was the name of the league Arsenal played in during World War 1? London Combination
2) Which Arsenal player won 78 caps for England playing cricket? Denis Compton
3) What was the transfer fee that Arsenal paid for Malcolm Macdonald? £333,333.34p
4) In 1936, the BBC broadcast their first ever live game. Who were Arsenal’s opponents? Arsenal reserves
5) What did Arsenal become the first club to do in 1992/93? Win the League Cup & FA Cup in the same season
6) How many times have Arsenal won the FA Cup Final in Cardiff? 3
7) In 1918, the US Navy played Epsom in what sport at Highbury? Baseball
8 )In what year did Arsene Wenger claim “It’s not impossible to go through the season unbeaten”? 2002
9) What was the name of Arsenal’s official 1998 FA Cup Final song? Hot Stuff
10) What is the real name of Highbury? The Arsenal Stadium

Nicknames
1) Whose nickname was Mr Arsenal? Tony Adams
2) Whose nickname was Ralph? Lauren
3) Whose nickname was Rocky? David Rocastle
4) Whose nickname was Sid? Freddie Ljungberg
5) Whose nickname was Iceman? Dennis Bergkamp
6) Whose nickname was Geordie? George Armstrong
7) Whose nickname was Safe Hands? David Seaman
8) Whose nickname was BFG? Per Mertersacker
9) Whose nickname was Le Professeur? Arsene Wenger
10) What was the Highbury nicknamed? The Home Of Football

Defenders
1) How many games did David O’Leary play for Arsenal? 722
2) How many league titles did Tony Adams captain Arsenal to? 4
3) Who captained Arsenal’s 1971 double winning team? Frank McLintock
4) Which defender became the first Arsenal player to captain England in 1934? Eddie Hapgood
5) Prior to Ian Wright joining the club, which defender was Arsenal’s regular penalty taker? Lee Dixon
6) Which overly eager 21 year old took out Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger whilst on trial? Kolo Toure
7) What shirt number did Sol Campbell wear in his 1st spell at the club? 23
8) Martin Keown had 2 spells at Arsenal. What two sides did he play for between? Aston Villa & Everton
9) Who did Arsenal buy off Crystal Palace for £1million and Clive Allen? Kenny Sansom
10) Who turned up to Gilberto Silva’s daughters birthday party wearing a tiger suit? Emmanuel Eboue

1930’s
1) How many times did Arsenal win the Football League during the 1930s? 5
2) In 1931, Arsenal won 9-1 – our biggest ever victory at Highbury. Who were the opponents? Grimsby Town
3) Which was the only side of Highbury that the clock was not positioned on during the 30s? The East side of the ground
4) Who took over as caretaker manager after Herbert Chapman died? Joe Shaw
5) Which Third Division team knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1933? Walsall
6) Which player joined Arsenal in 1938 for a world record transfer fee of £13,000? Bryn Jones
7) Which French team did Arsenal play in November every year throughout the 1930s? Racing Club de Paris
8) Which Arsenal goalkeeper scored in the game against Everton in March 1935? Frank Moss
9) During what season was Gillespie Road station renamed Arsenal and white sleeves were introduced to the Arsenal home kit? 1932-33
10) Other than Highbury, on which ground did Arsenal twice win the Football League? Stamford Bridge

First and Last
1) Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry’s first league goals were all against which team? Southampton
2) Who scored Arsenal’s last competitive goal at Highbury? Thierry Henry
3) Who scored Arsenal’s first competitive goal at the Emirates? Gilberto Silva
4) Arsene Wenger’s last game in charge was against which team? Huddersfield Town
5) John Jensen’s first and last goal for Arsenal was against which team? QPR
6) Who scored our last goal in front of a terraced North Bank at Highbury? Ian Wright
7) Tony Adams played his first game for Arsenal in 1983. Who were the opponents? Sunderland
8) At 33 seconds, which Arsenal defender became the quickest player to be sent off on debut against Birmingham in 1997? Jason Crowe
9) Liam Brady’s last game for Arsenal was against which team? Middlesbrough
10) Who scored our first ever goal in an FA Cup Final? Alex James

I also played for…
1) Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Chelsea – Petr Cech
2) Brentford, Caen, Le Harve, Dundee, Chelsea – Graham Rix
3) ASEC Mimosas, Bereven, Galatasaray, Sunderland – Emmanuel Eboue
4) Schalke, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, VFB Stutgart – Jens Lehmann
5) Notts County, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Beijing Guoan – Nico Yennaris
6) Marseille, AC Milan, Crystal Palace, Getafe – Mathieu Flamini
7) Wimbledon, West Ham United – Nigel Winterburn
8) West Ham, Blackburn Rovers – John Radford
9) IFK Eskilstuna, Stabæk, Brentford – Paul Davis
10) Stoke City, Torquay United, Sunderland – Steve Bould

Who is a naughty boy?
1) Who famously got in trouble after letting off a fire extinguisher in a Hornchuch pizza restaurant? Ray Parlour
2)In 1995 who was fined $4000 after pleading guilty to punching a mini cab driver in Hong Kong ? Ray Parlour
3) Which former player was convicted of keeping a brothel ? Peter Storey (6 months suspended)
4) Who was jailed for conspiracy to produce counterfeit money ? Peter Storey (3 years)
5) Which player ended up in court over a stolen bag at an airport ? David Hillier
6) In 1990 which player went to jail after drink driving? Tony Adams
7) On 17 September 1988 Paul Davis broke whose Jaw? Glenn Cockerill
8) Who was the Norwegian agent that George Graham took an “unsolicited gift” from? Rune Hauge
9) In Feb 2014 who got into trouble for bringing model Celia Kay to his room the night before a game? Olivier Giroud
10) Which Scottish international was banned for life by his country before he had even played a game? Willie Young