To this regard, the modern Football Manager has developed a fear you youth, in that they are temperamental, "inexperienced" and just not a quick enough fix for instant success. Teams such as Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd have chosen to waste millions on players who have either been complete disasters or brought some short term success. To what cost?
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I am sure I am understating slightly when I describe Liverpool and Man Utd as being in debt, in fact they are mortgaged to the hilt. Whereas the red quarters have been crippled with debt saddled by leveraged buy-outs, Chelsea have "hidden" their debt by converting it into equity, however as a certain American President once said; "You can put lipstick on a pig...".
Therefore, amongst other teams in England and indeed Europe, Arsenal have chosen to invest in the youth Academy and have laid the foundations for an institution which has been applauded by the footballing glitteratti, Fabio Cappello for instance. Only Barcelona, with their La Masia establishment, have got the edge on Arsenal...at the moment at least, with the likes of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and one Cesc Fabregas. Despite spending lavish sums on individual talents, some a waste others an investment, Barcelona have a core of players brought through their youth system which are arguably the most enviable quartet in the modern game.
But where does this leave Arsenal? Certainly for the past 5 years, there has been little to shout about in terms of successes. However, this depends on how you rate success. Chelsea and Man Utd have been exchanging the Premier League crown and FA Cup while Spurs (shudder) and Liverpool et al have lifted the Carling Cup.... Despite its reputation, silverware is silverware.
However, when you pick up a credit card and hit the shops, you bring home many nice things but eventually you have to pay it back sometime. As with Liverpool and Man Utd, success has come at a great price, while Chelsea will one day be without their suger-daddy in Abramovich and will have to rely on their own income to fund their seasons - with a less than sold-out stadium and lack of consistent success this will be difficult to achieve.
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Success can be seen in another light. If you ignore the lunatic ramblings of Richard Keys (the punch-able face of Sky Sports) and Andy Gray who deem trophies alone mark a great club, then Arsenal are indeed one of the most successful clubs in football today. Let me explain;
1) The Emirates. Recently, Arsenal announced £35.2m of profit the six months ending November 2009. In addition, the club paid down c£130m of net debt - an impressive performance in any financial sector. This means the total net debt of the club (Nov 09) is c£203.6m. This doesn't mean Arsenal will be debt free next year, but it certainly means they will have increased inflow of liquid cash to invest in players and infrastructure moving forward. Finally, the Emirates generates c£3m per match with a sold out (or near sold out) arena. Therefore, if Arsenal continue to consistently perform financially at this level, they will be one of the top financial performers in football and one of the richest, self sustaining clubs in the World.
2) Youth. Not yet quite at the same standard of La Masia, Arsenal have developed a youth academy which is developing talents such as Gibbs, Traore, Wilshere, Watt, Vela, Eastmond, Randall, Simpson, Sunu and Lansbury to name but a few. Wilshere and Lansbury represent Arsenal at England U21 Level while any future England Team (for the World Cup 2014 competition for example) could have up to 5 players from the Arsenal squad in the first team (Lansbury, Walcott, Wilshere, Gibbs and Simpson). The trend appearing here? All English players which is proof the squads aren't totally stuffed with foreign talent. Finally, Arsene famously stands by his selections in both League and Cup games when selecting youth players. Cesc grew into the player he is by playing regularly, while the likes of Van Persie and Walcott have grown in prominence due to regular starts. This creates a team dynamic based on trust and a knowledge of your colleagues game which the likes of Barcelona utilize to dominate the game and ultimately win silverware. Therefore, perhaps not a strategy for success in the present, but one for the future which will bear fruit at some point.
3) Competition. Arsenal are one of few clubs which have been playing in the Champions League since its inception and have finished inside the top 4 of the Premier League consistently. In addition, despite going without silverware, they have also reached the Champions League final or quarter/semi finals in recent years while also, using a young side, gone further into the FA Cup and League Cup than any other team of the equivalent. This is based on the quality of talent and the philosophy of football which resulted in the "Invincible" of the 03/04 season - a fete never achieved by a top-flight football team within 100 years (Preston in 1880's). Of course, the key factor here is income which I mentioned earlier, Arsenal frequently see a sold-out audience every match day from tickets, merchandise, corporate entertainment and peripherals, not to mention TV rights income and sponsorship.
To conclude, despite a distinct lack of trophies in recent times, Arsenal are surely a team for the future. I do not mean to say there is still a "transition" period, this has been and gone. In the hyper-inflated market of transfers, it is wise to tread carefully, unless you will find you have spent £30m on some pointless cretin like Berbatov....need I say more?
Therefore, by creating a youth system which produces fine, coveted talent and managing cash income wisely, Wenger is creating a team which, one day, will be the English Barcelona, a team of quality, philosophy and history. I may come across as biased being a Gooner but the evidence speaks for itself. Watch this space.
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