Arsenal had to make tough decisions to sustain the club in the new economic environment.
It’s easy to vilify Stan Kroenke, who owns numerous sports teams in the United States, including the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams.
It was his ownership of the Rams while they were in St. Louis, which made the owner, who is married to an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, one of the most hated owners in sports.
Kroenke egregiously mismanaged the move of the franchise from St. Louis to Los Angeles by holding the city ransom for a new partially publically funded stadium and then left town anyway.
However, the situation in North London is different.
Yes, most of the players in the club took a pay-cut to keep staff on board. This agreement was made amid the uncertainty of the economic environment at that time.
There was hope in the spring that the pandemic would be eased, and the football business would go back to normal after a momentary pause.
The reality is the impacts will be felt in the long-term as gate receipts, and other commercial revenue will be sorely hit in the upcoming season. If there are fans in the stands, they will be in far fewer numbers.
It is also clear that the disposable income of supporters will be severely reduced, which impacts Arsenal’s ability to collect revenue on tickets, memberships, and merchandising, among other things.
In reality, the transfer of Willian from Chelsea is for free. He is out of contract and can go anywhere. A club looking to stay competitive in the Premier League needs an additional defender. His salary will be the only expenditure.
The argument that Kroenke should use his vast financial resources to bail the team out is fair except for one big problem.
He can’t.