Mikel Arteta Has "Faith" In Arsenal Board Despite Spending Fears

Mikel Arteta insists he has "full faith" in Arsenal's board despite recently admitting he is worried about the club's spending power. Gunners boss Arteta raised eyebrows after this week's win against Liverpool when he said it was a "big concern" that he may not be given the finances to mount a Premier League title challenge. His side are preparing for a fourth season out of the lucrative Champions League and their cashflow has also been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Arsenal may even find themselves without Europa League revenue as they sit ninth in the table with two games remaining after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley.

Speaking in April, director Josh Kroenke said the club are currently operating a "Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget".

Yet, with head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu overseeing recruitment at Arsenal, Arteta is adamant he still has a good relationship with the club's powerbrokers.

"I have full faith. I have a really good relationship with Raul, with Edu, with Vinai (Venkatesham, managing director) and direct contact with the owners," Arteta told reporters on Friday.

"We know what we want to do. That's not the issue, for sure. There are many different aspects.

"Obviously the financial one, depending on where we finish, is one. Depending on the future of a few players and obviously depending on the transfer market.

"We don't know the type of transfer market we are going to find. It is something unique, it never happened and there are a lot of question marks around that."

Arteta also revealed he is in regular contact with Arsenal's United States-based owner Stan Kroenke.

Asked if his questioning of Arsenal's financial options was a veiled warning about his own future plans, Arteta said: "That was misinterpreted. It wasn't my intention.

"We work so closely with everyone at the club, with the owners to put the plan that we need to take the club forward. Everybody has the same ambition, we are in all of this together.

"But if you ask me if I know right now what do I have and how can I do it, I'm sorry but I don't know because there are a lot of questions that we cannot resolve right now with the situation we have.

"It's not about sending a message, we all have the same objective which is to try to bring the club back as quickly as possible, fighting with the top teams in the country and in Europe.

"I speak with them and I have a really good and open relationship. That's why when you mention that I am surprised because I don't need to do that."

Topics mentioned in this article

Arsenal Liverpool Manchester City Mikel Arteta English Premier League Football