We Have A Socialist Pay Model Which Makes Us Vulnerable, Admits Arsenal Boss Wenger

Arsene Wenger has revealed that he sets the wage structure at Arsenal which is more akin to a "socialist model", and believes while it is fair, it may leave the club vulnerable when it comes to other sides tempting star players away.


The Gunners' financial framework has been under scrutiny from fans as Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Robin van Persie have left the club for bumper deals at Manchester City and United while Theo Walcott is stalling on a new contract.

And while Wenger admits his method means richer clubs have the potential to cherry-pick the north London side's best talent, he says as long as the club remains sustainable it is a "defendable" position.


"We don't have a big gap between what our players earn at Arsenal," he told reporters. "We are more a socialist model and vulnerable because of that.

"We have something that is defendable in front of every single player. We make exceptions, but the ­exceptions are maybe not as high as elsewhere.

"We have an amount of money that is dedicated to wages. Within that we try to do things that make sense and are defendable."

While captain Van Persie left to join league leaders United on a deal thought to be around the £200,000 mark, Wenger says nobody at Arsenal is close to a contract of that size.

 "I've believed all my life to pay well people who work for us. If you can afford to do it, you do it. But we have no players on £200,000 a week.

"As long as our business is organised so we do not need any help from anybody... then it is defendable. Afterwards, you can always say, 'Is it enough, is it too much?' That is a more ­philosophical question."

The Gunners currently sit in sixth position in the Premier League on 34 points, 18 behind Sir Alex Feguson's men with a game in hand.

Window Watch: Leaked! Walcott's Arsenal Contract Demands

WALCOTT'S CONTRACT DEMANDS

Name: Theo James Walcott
Age: 23
Position: Centre forward. Centre forward. (CENTRE)

Basic Wage: [Whatever the club feel is appropriate – money is not the issue here*]


Clauses:
The employee in question must start and finish every competitive match as the team’s central striker. In addition to this, yellow lines will be painted upon the Emirates’ pitch to separate the two wide areas from the central third. The employee in question shall never be required to pass beyond the central area.
The employee in question will no longer be forced to spend the hours of 2pm-4pm every weekday incarcerated in a darkened room with endless recordings of Dennis Bergkamp projected onto the walls, ceiling and floor, with Mr Wenger repeatedly screaming “that’s what a football brain is, godammit” into his ears. As well as giving the employee in question recurring nightmares, the procedure is clearly not bearing fruit and needs to be brought to a conclusion.
The employee in question will never be made to participate in training drills that involve ball control with any of the following employees: Mr Arteta; Mr Wilshere; Mr Cazorla. It is a painful ordeal for the employee in question to endure and quite possibly a contributor to aforementioned recurring nightmares.
Mr Wenger will hereby discontinue his frankly bizarre habit of bursting into uncontrollable tears every time he sees the employee in question pulling on the no.14 shirt before a match.

Employee signature: __________________________________

Employer signature:  __________________________________


*As long as it’s a shedload more than the small change Mr Walcott is on currently. And at least twice what Gervinho’s ‘earning’. And you can stick you socialist pay structure where the sun don't Thanks very much.


PSG'S TOP SECRET LIST OF TRANSFER TARGETS
1. Leo Messi - Argentine God of Football. Would represent significant upgrade on Gameiro. Removal from current beloved employers may prove difficult.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo - Very good - not Messi-good, obviously, but good nonetheless. Would enhance PSG's global franchise. And its first team. Possible drawback: is rumoured to lock himself in a hotel room with a bottle of scotch, a printout of Leo Messi's face, and a pack of darts for days on end after the annual Ballon d'Or ceremony. May require counselling for this.

3. Lord Zlatan – Height, technique, strength (esp. rock-like thighs). Head of hair to rival Leonardo. DONE

4. Jose Mourinho – Will deliver glamour, trophies, and Ricardo Carvalho, no questions asked. Possible drawbacks: Likely to depart after two years, leaving club in state of irreversible apocalyptic implosion. May ask Lord Zlatan to break into a jog.

5. Neymar – Every big football club franchise needs a South American import, preferably with many YouTube highlights reels. If Neymar proves unobtainble, Lucas Moura will do. DONE
(IMPORTANT – List must not be disclosed to Mr Leonardo or Mr Ancelotti.)

BRAND BECKHAM'S LATEST BROCHURE

As you will doubtlessly know, Brand Beckham is currently looking for a new location in which to continue his numerous promotional obligations, his ongoing regime of abdominal enhancement, and also to partake in the sport of football.

Now approaching his 38thbirthday, many industry consultants have offered the view that Brand Beckham is under threat – some sporting pundits have even said that his footballing talents may be waning. While we will not be commenting on the latter criticism, the former could not be further from the truth – Brand Beckham has lost none of its appeal.

Brand Beckham retains his ability to bring a bustling street of people to a complete standstill with an icy stare and a bulging groin delivered, in poster form, from the side of a bus. His commercial appeal stretches beyond this mass-hypnosis, too - tattoo parlours in any region are guaranteed a prosperous few years as Brand Beckham continues to pursue his goal of covering every inch of his atatomy in completely-ambigous-yet-deeply-personally-meaningful inked graphics.

Theo Walcott To Sign New Arsenal Contract This Week

The England international is close to finalising improved terms following fruitful talks over the last fortnight.

Goal.com understands that Walcott will put pen to paper on a deal that runs until 2017.


The 23-year-old's salary will climb from £60,000-a-week to around £90,000-a-week under the new agreement, which will be bolstered by top-up bonuses and a multi-million pound signing-on fee.

Walcott has indicated his desire to stay at Emirates Stadium after being offered an improved package by Arsenal. He has also been encouraged that Arsene Wenger has lived up to his promise of giving him opportunities to play in his favourite centre-forward role.

Walcott has started Arsenal's last five matches up front, scoring four goals, including a hat-trick against Newcastle United. Despite being regularly overlooked by Wenger in the first three months of the season, he leads the club's scoring charts with 14 goals.

Both parties are confident the new deal will be signed by the end of the week, which will then allow Wenger to concentrate on reinforcing Arsenal's squad.

The manager has set his sights on acquiring a senior striker from Spain, with David Villa and Adrian Lopez his top two targets.

Securing Walcott's future will be a huge boost to Arsenal after tying fellow Brits Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Carl Jenkinson to new five-year deals shortly before Christmas.

Walcott, whose contract expires in the summer, is free to sign a pre-contract with a foreign club this month.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are among the leading clubs who had been keen to take advantage of his potential availability.

Szczesny planning long-term stay

Wojciech Szczesny has told the Arsenal website he has been a fan of the club since joining in 2006 and said he is one of many "genuine Gooners" in Arsene Wenger's dressing room.

As Arsenal contract rebel Theo Walcott closes in on a decision on his long-term future, Szczesny has stated that a clutch of the players in Wenger's camp are burning with desire to succeed at the club that gave them a chance to perform on the biggest stages in European football.

"Ever since I signed for this club, I've become an Arsenal fan," he said. "It feels like it's more than me just playing and doing my best on a Saturday afternoon, as I feel as if I have a much bigger part to play at this club. It means that little bit more to me.

"I think there's a lot of players in this team that are genuine Gooners. You've got people like Carl Jenkinson, Jack Wilshere and Emmanuel Frimpong who really feel it's the biggest honour they could have to play for this club. I think that's very important for the future.

"I don't think about playing for any other club. I see my future at Arsenal Football Club. I committed to coming here at the age of 16, not to then leave at the age of 24. That's not how it works for me. Coming over to England at the age of 16 was the most important decision of my life and probably the best one to date."

Szczesny believes he is some way short of realising his full potential at the tender age of 22.

"I think I improve with every single game," he added as he closes in on a century of appearances for the Gunners. "I get the experience that is needed for a young 'keeper, so it's important for me to play as many games as possible."

Arteta - We Don't Want To Waste This chance

By Nik Brumsack

Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are determined to go as far as possible in this season’s FA Cup.

Arsène Wenger’s side must replay their third-round tie against Swansea after Danny Graham’s late equaliser secured the hosts a 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.

Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion await in the fourth round for whoever progresses, and Arteta believes the cup is a real opportunity for the Gunners to win some silverware.

“It’s a great chance to win a trophy,” he told Arsenal Player. “We don’t want to miss it.

“We improved a lot in the second half [against Swansea]. We had many chances to finish the game earlier, but then suddenly with one mistake they scored the first goal.

“We kept going and showed a lot of character to get back into the game, score and go ahead. But then we conceded a sloppy one again.

“I think we were the better team. We dominated possession better than them and created more chances. We deserved to win the game and that’s why we’re disappointed.

“We’re on a good run. We’re disappointed with the draws in the last two games as we could have won both of them but I thought in the second half we played very good football.”