Arsenal: Cash solution

Arsenal's recent spending spree in the transfer market suggests the club is serious about ending its wait for a trophy - even without the help of star striker Robin van Persie.

Arsenal's last triumph came on penalties against Van Persie's new club, Manchester United, in the 2005 FA Cup final. Since then, the growing frustration among fans has reached a point where some have called on Arsenal's board to sack the most successful manager in its 126-year history, Arsene Wenger.

As the likes of Chelsea, United and more recently Manchester City have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into their squads, Wenger's approach has been to do the opposite.

Typically, the club's preseason signings have been virtual unknowns or teenagers. Or both. At the same time, it has struggled to hold on to its top players, many of which have left the Emirates for bigger paydays elsewhere. The deal reached on Wednesday night to sell Van Persie to United is only the latest in a string of exits.

With his degree in economics, Wenger knows full well the benefits of his transfer dealings for the club's balance sheet, which is still digesting the 390 million pounds ($610 million) lavished on its 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.

However, with supporters' patience already at an end and plenty of warning that Van Persie would be heading out of the club, he also realized that it's time to change tactics. And that's not the intricate passing game that has helped win three league titles and four FA Cups since the Frenchman took charge in 1996.

"We are now 15 years on the trot in the Champions League and I believe that shows that our business model works," he said. "On the other hand we are very ambitious, we want as well to win trophies.

"It's not enough just to be in the Champions League and we are focused on that of course."

(China Daily 08/17/2012 page22)