Arsenal Chief Distances Himself From ‘£40m Transfer Budget’ Talk

Arsenal managing director Vinai Venkatesham claims that the rumoured transfer budget isn’t accurate…

Arsenal chiefs Vinai Venkatesham and Raul Sanllehi hosted a group of fans for a Q&A session, continuing the tradition set by Ivan Gazidis, and the duo were given a tough time on a number of topics, Arseblog News reports.

The two men in charge of the club held court in front of concerned fans and were given some tough questions to handle for their first outing.

The absence of Arsene Wenger seems to have given fans a clear voice and target when directing their anger towards the club without feeling like they’re disrespecting the legendary Frenchman.

Too often did Ivan Gazidis and those in the hierarchy take the easy option of hiding behind Wenger to shield them and calm the storm among fans.

However, with the transfer window nearing its end and our squad looking visibly weak, fans had a lot of frustrations to get off their chests.

One of the main topics of concern was this continuous ‘£40million transfer budget’ we’ve heard regurgitated by some sections of the media who’re close to the club.

While three consecutive seasons in the Europa League will provide obvious financial strains, convincing Arsenal fans that our entire budget is less than what Newcastle United just spent on their new centre-forward was always going to be a tough sell.

However, considering the business we’ve done – or lack thereof – the club is certainly giving off the vibes that we’re financially weak.

When pressed on the issue, managing director Vinai aimed to distance himself from that ‘£40m’ figure and claimed it was a media figment, though he stopped short of saying that we had considerable funds at our disposal.

“I don’t recognise this £40m figure, I have read it a lot,” Vinai said when asked to explain that figure.

“That doesn’t come from us, that doesn’t come from the club. The numbers never come from us. 

“We never ever, ever, ever talk about how much money we have to spend because that’s the least helpful thing you can do. Raul’s job is hard enough, if you go into a negotiation and everyone knows how much money you’ve got, it doesn’t really help.

“It is true that our funds are more limited after three years in the Europa League, but the budget isn’t £40m.

“We have the budget to make a difference, but as Raul says, this is a particularly tough window and we’re in the middle of it. I sense and understand the frustration, but there is a huge amount of misinformation out there in the market,” he added.

After a frustrating summer, it’s rather consoling that the moment of truth is near and we’ll soon know if we’ve failed in the transfer market