Here’s a few snippets from Arsenal Chief Commercial Officer, Tom Fox,

The clubs brand is β€œdefined by more than winning”.

He says:

Arsenal Football Club is not only about winning. We have a large and engaged fan-base around the world who wants to feel as if they belong to the club, and want to feel proud to belong to the club. That’s my primary business.

Obviously nothing instills pride in our fan-base more than winning but there’s many things we do that make our fans feel proud. So developing the kinds of young talent, finding those players in the marketplace make our fans feel proud.

Coming to a stadium that the club built really at a time – 10 years ago when the board decided to build that stadium, everything was going our way, it was Manchester United and Arsenal, but we made a very bold decision and we built that stadium on time and on budget, that makes our fans very proud.

When they see that we can attract – even though we haven’t won a trophy in seven years – one of the top global brands in the world for the type of money and financial commitment they’re making, that makes our fans feel proud.

So our brand is defined by more than winning.

On losing big name players like Robin, Cesc, Nasri and maybe Theo in a few weeks as it matters not as there are always other youngsters to take their place:

We look at it whether it’s Serge Gnabry, who is a 17-year-old player in our reserves squad, whether it’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whether it’s Theo Walcott, we look at these young players and have faith in our manager to develop them as the players for the future,.

Speaking about the new Emirates deal:

Football can be a fairly mercenary commercial environment. Football clubs go into the market and they really do business with whoever wants to pay them the most money.Β By the time this current shirt deal expires with Emirates, they would have been on our shirt for 13 years. That says a lot about how we run the football club and what’s important to us as a football club.

So it’s not just about finding the best commercial opportunity.

Well there you go!

What about the fans I wonder?

Those who paid vast amounts of money to travel to Greece last night? Those who travel to each and every away fixture regardless of the weather conditions and money it costs? Those who pay out vast amounts of money each season to keep their seat at our home ground?

Do the club think that they all care whose name is on the front of our shirt, or plastered all around the stadium?

Funny enough I doubt it’s top of any fans priority list.

But watching quality players play good football and winning, does!!

We are it seems, supporting a club which view a top four place as being a success and we all know why. It’s nothing to do with being part of the ‘elite Champions League’ every season, it’s about the money it brings with it.

Last night we could have secured top spot in our group but the players who could have secured that for us are already on their last legs. Instead Wenger was forced, or chose to take a group of players who let that chance go.

They weren’t outplayed, they just weren’t good enough to carry out the task ahead of them and now we will no doubt be drawn against a side like Barcelona or Brussia Dortmund.

If this club, and by that I mean those who run it, had an ounce of ambition in their veins, we would be trying to win that competition, not just taking part because of the money.

If they are not going to assemble a squad that can really challenge in all four competitions, then why bother aiming to get in it each year.

Ambition??

I don’t think so…….