5 Reasons Why David Cameron Should Resign

Britain's influence in the world is waning at an alarming rate, and while that may be an inevitable state of affairs in a quickly changing world, it seems David Cameron is doing his level best to speed things along. Yes, he sounds like a characte...
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Arsenal's Bright Future

Arsene Wenger is probably going through the toughest time of his illustrious spell at the helm at Arsenal.  Attacks from both the media and his own fans have shocked and surprised many, given Arsenal’s success over the years.  However, Arsenal is in a very strong financial position and well positioned to launch a brand new era of dominance.

When the former Monaco manager took over at Highbury in 1996, he inherited a predominantly British squad.  Few could have envisaged what Wenger would build in the years to come.  A series of quality signings arrived for prices that would not look out of place in League 2 these days.  Nicolas Anelka and Patrick Veira were added for a mere £1million!  They would both later leave for sums in excess of £20million.

Arsene’s knack of buying cheap and selling high has put Arsenal in an almost unprecedented position in the Premier League.  While Chelsea have a net spend of over £150million over the last five years, Arsenal have spent a mere £3.5 million net.  While many fans will argue that this policy has failed to deliver any trophies to the Emirates Stadium, there is a much bigger picture to consider.

Arsenal’s move out of Highbury to the Emirates cost the club £390 million.  While 70% of this was financed from bank loans, the remainder had to be found by the club.  Wenger’s frugal management of the club accounts must surely have made this sort of investment possible.  Also included in the Emirates Stadium development was a housing development.  While raising eyebrows at the time, this venture has added much needed funds to the Arsenal coffers, enabling substantial debts to be paid down earlier than expected.

When the foreign invasion began, with the purchase of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich,  Arsenal was not a very attractive proposition.  Relatively large debts, coupled with a complex mesh of ownership meant the billionaires went after Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.  While fans bask in the glory of winning trophies and spending hundreds of millions on player purchases, they are oblivious to the reality.

Both Manchester City and Chelsea are receiving these ‘cash advances’ for player purchases in the form of interest free loans.  In the case of Chelsea, the debt has been converted into bonds, owned by Abramovich himself.  This means that both clubs, at least in practical terms, actually have huge debt.  As long as the billionaire owners stick around, everything should be fine.  However, if they get bored with their new toys, or need to rationalise their personal finances, the future will be an uncertain and precarious one.

Arsenal have had their problems with boardroom battles for control of the club, but the billionaire owners are already there.  Stan Kroenke and Alisher Usmanov already own significant shares in the club.  Unlike the Liverpool purchase by Hicks and Gillett, or the Manchester United purchase by the Glazer family, there will be no need to secure huge loans against the value of the club.  Manchester United are about to launch a bond issue in Singapore in an attempt to reduce the club’s crippling debts.  Many say that issuing bonds is simply a way of moving debt from one place to another.

When Malcolm Glazer announced his decision to buy United, few would have realised the way in which he planned to do it.  Incredibly, it was possible to borrow the money from several banks against the value of the club.  This meant a club that made money every year and was completely debt free, became saddled with crippling debt almost overnight.  Sadly, this picture of hidden debt is all too common in English football and many experts predict this debt ‘time bomb’ may devastate the entire industry at some point in the future.

On the field, Arsenal are in apparent disarray at the moment.  They have just lost Fabregas to Barcelona and it would seem Samir Nasri’s move to Manchester City is imminent.  A poor start to the season has instigated some calls for Wenger to go.  Arsenal fans are used to competing for trophies, so this current predicament is obviously hard to take.  However, the fans need to be patient and be careful what they wish for.

While all of the other major players in the Premier League continue to battle with debt, Arsenal are almost debt free.  They have the most modern stadium in England with the option to further develop it.  In only a few years, a debt-free Arsenal will be able to exercise their financial muscle with relative impunity.  While Chelsea and Manchester City will be worrying about losing their sugar daddies, Wenger could be leading Arsenal to decades of domination.

Arsenal's Problems Continue to Mount

Perhaps the most surprising event of this weekend was Arsene Wenger's inclusion of Samir Nasri for the Liverpool game.  Clearly, the selection of an unsettled player on the verge of leaving the club shows just what a mess Arsenal are in at the moment.

With Song, Gervinho and now Frimpong all suspended and Fabregas already gone, it would appear things at the Emirates may get a whole lot worse before they get better.  Wilshere is still out with injury and it is not yet clear how long he'll be missing.  This all begs the question what sort of performance Arsenal can muster against Udinese this week.  Failure to qualify for the Champions League is unthinkable for the Gunners' board, but it looks like a distinct possibility.

There are many questions that need to be answered, and despite Wenger's incredible record of success in North London, not even he is above criticism - or even worse, the sack.  The stubborn stance on Fabregas only served to delay the inevitable and leave the club woefully under-prepared, under-staffed and demotivated for the beginning of the season.  Is this really worth the extra few million the club received from Barcelona?  Surely the best preparation would have been to sell Fabregas at the beginning of the close season and have a full and detailed plan of recruitment.  It now looks as if three or four players will join an already demoralised squad - that may be coming to terms with the consolation prize of Europe League football.

Wenger has so far performed a super-human effort in actually making a net profit in the transfer market over the last six years.  However, with the most expensive season tickets in England, the fans may now be losing patience with their manager.  Why has this happened this season, yet in previous seasons there has been an obvious plan of succession at the club?  High-profile players have left Arsenal almost every year of Arsene's reign, yet there always seemed to be someone waiting in the wings to take over.

If Nasri does leave, Arsenal will have lost their two most influential midfielders without really replacing either.  Ramsey and Wilshere are excellent players but are young and will probably need both time and the help of senior, experienced colleagues to help their progress.  Unfortunately, they are going to receive neither.  Meanwhile Wenger is still battling with criticisms that he is unprepared to spend big money to get big players through the door.  I have to admit I'm with Arsene here.  Fans tend to look at the pounds spent these days, and the quality and suitability of the player becomes almost a secondary thought.

Wenger is one of the great managers of the English game.  He has transformed the club in a way akin to Ferguson's achievements at Manchester United.  He has delivered trophies and balanced the books - a rare feat indeed.  Arsenal have not spent the amounts their title challengers have, yet some of the world's best players have graced both the Emirates and Highbury during Wenger's reign.  I only hope that the Arsenal fans forgive Arsene this year's miscalculation and the board give him the time to get the Arsenal project back on track.  Arsenal make the Premier League a greater spectacle - Wenger's Arsenal that is...