Ivan Gazidis faces grilling with Arsenal fans demanding urgent changes

EXCLUSIVE
In the firing line | Gazidis faces backlash from Gunners fans
David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
James Olley8 September 2017

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis will face a grilling from disgruntled supporters demanding an explanation over his promise of being a “catalyst for change” and the club’s transfer activity.

Gazidis is set to meet around a dozen influential fans, led by the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST), at Highbury House, prior to Saturday’s match against Bournemouth.

During a similar event in April, Gazidis claimed that the team’s dismal form at the time - they lost seven out of 12 matches in all competitions between January 31 and April 10 - highlighted the need for a different approach to achieve their targets.

However, he was halted in his attempts to appoint a director of football, while manager Arsene Wenger was handed a two-year contract after Arsenal beat Chelsea to win the FA Cup, despite missing out on Champions League qualification for the first time in 20 years and fan protests.

Although several backroom additions were made, including fitness coach Darren Burgess and legal expert Huss Fahmy, many fans want answers after seeing the club lose two of their opening three League matches and end the transfer window in profit.

Contained within the questions submitted in advance of the meeting is an AST request for Gazidis to forego his annual bonus - he received a 40 per cent increase last year taking his overall package to £2.65million per year.

“In light of the poor team performances, not making the Champions League, flat commercial revenues and a mismanaged transfer window, will you offer to forego any bonus this year?” reads one.

“Can you explain what you expected to achieve when you talked of being a ‘catalyst of change’ at the club - who or what prevented you from subsequently doing much?” reads another.

Arsenal signed Alexandre Lacazette for a club-record £52.7m, in addition to Sead Kolasinac’s arrival on a free transfer, but several sales, including Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Gabriel and Wojciech Szczesny, ensured they ended the summer with an estimated profit of £10-15m.

“AST analysis shows there is plenty of available cash for strengthening the team,” begins a third question. “The last transfer window could have seen almost £100m net spent on players. Please explain why these resources weren’t invested in the team?”

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A Trust spokesman told Standard Sport: “AST has been inundated with messages from members expressing their frustration with developments at Arsenal, so we have put forward these questions to Ivan Gazidis for the fans’ forum. It is important that the club provide explanations and are accountable to fans for the decisions they are making.

“Independent analysis we commissioned showed that the board needs strengthening in key skillsets and that too much power was vested in the manager. We believe that recent events have demonstrated this and that change is urgently required.”

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