talkSPORT’s Tony Cascarino has launched a huge attack on Arsenal’s top brass, claiming “there’s a lot going wrong upstairs” at the club.
Gunners boss Unai Emery revealed earlier this month he is only able to bring players on loan to the Emirates Stadium in the January transfer window, a revelation that has outraged some Arsenal fans.
There is also the underlying issue of the wage structure at the club which saw Mesut Ozil awarded a contract worth £350,000-a-week.
And not only has it looked like a short-sighted decision because Emery has barely played the German since arriving in north London but it has arguably led to the imminent departure of Aaron Ramsey, who has reportedly signed a pre-contract agreement with Juventus.
And speaking to Georgie Bingham on Weekend Sports Breakfast, Cascarino tore into the way Arsenal operated as a football club off the pitch and expressed sympathy for how Emery is paying the price for it.
Cascarino said: “He [Emery] was given the worst elite club to take on because the funding isn’t there for him to change it very quickly.
“He has to be given the time. I think it’s far too easy to judge him but he’s been given a pair of deuces whereas the other managers have been given some kings, queens and aces. He’s been given the club with the worst budget.
“You could say Tottenham are in a similar vein where they don’t spend anywhere near as much as Arsenal which they haven’t in recent years but they have a much more talented squad. They’re full of players that could sell for £100million or £150million.
“Arsenal’s negotiations around selling and buying has been dreadful. They’ve sold hardly anybody.
“Look at Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott – they’re probably the two names that have gone out of the club for £40m and £20m but then they go and buy Aubameyang for £60m who’s 29-years-old.
“I just don’t get it. They don’t sell players for lots and lots of money or for free. They’ve got the structure of their club completely wrong, they buy high and sell cheap.
“There’s a strange dynamic there. Kroenke is not a billionaire who spends big on his football club. They’re not like the Glazers or Abramovich.
“It’s quite clear there’s a lot wrong upstairs at Arsenal. They’ve moved to the stadium and they’ve become a smaller club since leaving Highbury.
“The Emirates is a fantastic stadium that’s meant to be brushing shoulders with some of the biggest clubs in Europe. They’ve now become a lesser club, they can’t do that.”