Arsenal Transfer News: Fans Should Cringe at Arsene Wenger's Financial Comments

Arsenal is prospering as a business to the detriment of its football team, and this storied club will not be winning any hardware until that changes.

Given head Gunner Arsene Wenger's recent comments, Arsenal is not going to need to expand its trophy case anytime soon.

ESPN's Kevin Palmer captured the following quote from Wegner:

This club has been brave in the way it has gone about its business in recent years because we knew the path we have taken would not be easy. We are a club in a strong situation financially due to the way we do things and even though the rest of the clubs in Europe have big financial worries, we get criticised for what we do. 

People ask, "What are they doing at Arsenal with all the money they get in from transfer sales?" Well, I tell you, we are proud of our record and the fact that we are running this club in the way every other club in Europe should be run.

So don't worry, Arsenal fans, Robin van Persie and Alex Song are gone, but at least the owners are making a bunch of money. 

This is the last thing fans want to hear, right? Owning a sports team should never be about making money. It should be about winning. For the most part, fans demand the same from owners and the players in that regard. 

Let me stop this course before I really get started. After all, this article is not about slamming Arsenal for its philosophy but what that philosophy means. 

The part of Wenger's quote that is most alarming is when he says the Gunners are proud of their record. Combine their pride with the fact they are jettisoning salary, and it is hard to come to any conclusion other than the fact they are content with where they are—content to find the line where they maximize profits at a non-nerve-shattering level of expenditures. 

There is no reason to think this philosophy or stance is going to change, and there is definitely no reason to think it is going to lead to more wins. 

This is going to produce more results like this offseason. The Gunners will develop players, and they may do that to a point that leads them to being within sniffing distance of the top of the EPL, but that success is going to price them out of those players, and they will watch them walk away for nothing. 

Well, not for nothing—the owners will turn a profit. The fans on the other hand, won't be able to turn anything other than the channel to avoid more mediocre results.