Stan Kroenke can not bail out Arsenal.
Financial Fair Play (FFP) was designed to ensure that football clubs maintain financial sustainability by only spending what they earn in revenue by capping their debt.
FFP also keeps owners from infusing large amounts of cash into the team, potentially giving them an unfair advantage in the competitive labor market for players.
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Under the guise of maintaining competitive balance and integrity, FFP is a flawed system as it supports the pervasive egalitarian ethos in football.
It is FFP that stifles individual owners for being able to invest the money and other resources into their clubs to make them better or keep them alive.
The FFP regulations are a violation of the individual rights of owners to do what they want with what is their property.
Stan Kroenke has the resources to put millions into Arsenal to maintain the employment of all the players, supportive, and administrative staff – if that was his choice.
It should be his choice.
However, the regulations put down by UEFA through FFP has tied Stan Kroenke’s hands by not allowing him to invest any more cash into Arsenal from his own pocket.
Instead, the Gunner’s owner has been forced to make attempts to save money through re-financing the debt on Emirates Stadium, re-structuring the recruitment department, and cutting staff.
Many question the methodology used to cut Arsenal’s expenses, however, many of those, like not re-signing Aubameyang to a new contract, are not in the club’s long term rational best interest.
The financial reality caused by the pandemic will have effects for seasons to come. Arsenal had to make difficult decisions to remain sustainable as a business.
It’s a shame that people had to lose their jobs in the fallout. Those jobs could have been saved if the regulations allowed the Gunners owner to use all the resources available to him.