Arsenal Will Compete Financially With World’s Elite In 2014 – Claims Gazidis

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis claims Arsenal will join football’s elite when they renew their commercial sponsorship deals in 2014.

The Gunners moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2005 and signed long-term commercial deals with several sponsors in 2004 to help fund the move.

Many of those deals are up for renewal in the summer of 2014, at which point the clubs coffers will benefit from a huge influx of cash as the new contracts should be negotiated at far higher premiums than those agreed eight years ago.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Gazidis confirmed that the renewal of these commercial deals is the next big step in the clubs financial future and once complete, will cement Arsenal’s place alongside the likes of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona as the world’s footballing elite.

“In terms of the financial impact, it will be as significant a step forward as the stadium was in 2005,” Gazidis said.

“It does kick us into the top five clubs in the world with separation from the rest. The overall journey that the club embarked on was to make it one of the leading clubs in the world and to do it in a way that would be sustainable.”

Gazidis also hit back at those who question the clubs ambitions, saying Arsenal are the most ambitious football club he knows.

“We get accused of a lack of ambition or complacency because apparently the board are only interested in the top four. That is absolute rubbish. To me this is the most ambitious football club I know.” Gazidis told the Telegraph.

The Arsenal supremo went on to reveal that boss Arsene Wenger will be offered a new contract, with his current deal also expiring in 2014.

The Frenchman has already clocked up 16 years in north London but has gone seven years without winning a trophy, with some sections of the Emirates faithful questioning his position as manager in recent seasons. However, Gazidis claims Wenger is still the right man to lead the club forward:

“It’s not a sense of sentimentalism, not a reward for services, it’s a belief that we have an incredible manager who loves this club and is the best man to lead us forward,” Gazidis said.

“We’re really confident about the direction that the club is heading. I feel he can keep going for a long time. He’s in fantastic shape and he’s as driven as he’s ever been and excited as ever.

“We’re not dominated by fear,” he said. “Arsène never succumbs. We try to do more than win, we try to win with style. I know we haven’t won trophies in recent years. There’s no one here that doesn’t feel the pain of not being able to do that.

“We’re very optimistic about this season. We’re absolutely trying to win silverware and we’re trying desperately hard to do it this year.”

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