Arsenal’s long-serving manager Arsene Wenger received the unequivocal support on Thursday of majority shareholder Stan Kroenke who declared he is doing a “great job”.
But that did not stop other shareholders from criticising the club’s board during Arsenal’s annual general meeting at the north London club’s Emirates Stadium home ground.
They voted against resolutions to re-elect chairman Chips Keswick and Josh Kroenke – Stan’s son – to the Gunners’ board.
The votes at the AGM, however, did not succeed given Stan Kroenke had already used his 67 percent stake to back the re-appointment of the duo.
Some 200 shareholders turned up in person – meaning plenty were left standing at the start of the AGM as not enough chairs had been provided – to hear from Wenger, Keswick and chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
Wenger came under unprecedented pressure last season as Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League and many fans voiced their desire for him to leave after 21 years in the job.
meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has confirmed that the Arsenal board will review his position as manager at the end of the season.
Speaking on Thursday at the club’s annual general meeting, he suggested that talks would take place when this campaign concludes – something he confirmed in a news conference.
“I want to see what the board thinks of my performance,” Wenger said.
“After that we decide where we go from there. My desire has always been to respect my contracts, but that is what I meant.”
Last season, the Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League, failing to qualify for the Champions League. It was the first time they have finished outside the top four since Wenger joined in 1996.
At the end of a campaign that saw Wenger face fierce protests from fans calling for him to leave, Arsenal finished 18 points behind champions Chelsea, but beat the Blues 2-1 to win the FA Cup.
On Thursday, Wenger told shareholders that the current side has “something special” and he believes there is “a chance” of success this term.
“My hunger, my commitment is bigger than ever,” he said. “I question myself a lot, don’t worry, I will sit down every year to see where I go.
“The present for me is about style of play, winning trophies, winning every game. Don’t think I don’t know. It’s essential.
“No matter what happens one day I will always love this club forever and be an eternal fan.”
Earlier, Keswick defended a £2.6m pay-out to Gazidis after shareholders questioned why his payment remained the same despite a poor season on the pitch.
“Ivan is doing a fantastic and first-class job leading the development of this club across every aspect of its operations,” the 77-year-old said.
Gazidis answered a series of questions about Arsenal’s on-field performance, claiming that “according to objective metrics – points versus transfer expenditure – no club has over-performed as much as Arsenal”.
Regarding their transfer business he said: “We deal with a massive amount of mis-information, there are many agendas at play. We want to compete at the top of the most competitive league in the world.
“To win the Premier League we need to do things better than our competitors in every area – without putting our club into financial difficulties.
“Arsenal, of the big clubs, have been the most over-performing club over time.”
|Sun
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