Mikel Arteta responds to criticism of Arsenal spending spree after redundancies

Mikel Arteta admits he understood the criticism of Arsenal making redundancies while preparing to go on a transfer spending spree.

The Gunners received a public backlash after it was announced 55 staff were losing their jobs days after the FA Cup final and while they were preparing to make new signings.

Their players were also upset as the cuts came despite most of the squad taking a pay cut themselves to try to save jobs amid the crippling costs of the pandemic.

But Arteta insisted they needed to make changes to ensure future success and stability as they looked to streamline several departments at the club.

The Arsenal boss said: “I understand. If you are only looking at the financial point of view you can get contradictory messages.

“But the club had a thorough plan of how they needed to restructure in order to function better and be more stable for the future. They were convincing with every argument they gave.

“It’s sad and it was during the Covid period that we had to make the decision to get our players to contribute to the pay cuts.

“One of the reasons was to maintain some of them.”

However, Arteta insisted the players could not expect to have more of a say even after taking a pay cut. The players took a 12.5 per cent drop for 12 months and are the only Premier League club to do that, although five per cent was offset when they reached the Europa League.

Arteta said: “The players were happy to contribute and help the club in this difficult financial position. That doesn’t mean that afterwards you are going to have a say in every decision made by the club.

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“It can’t work like that. It wasn’t an obligation, it was a choice whether you wanted to do it or not. And we tried to do the right things as human beings to help a club that has been supporting us, in my case for many years, and in others cases here as well, whether you were injured, sick, performing or not performing.

“We believe it was the right thing to do and then the club has to be free to try to fight for the future in the most positive and stable way. That’s how we do it.”

It is a difficult financial period for the club despite more impending deals like the signing of Lille defender Gabriel on top of Willian joining from Chelsea, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to sign a new three-year contract.

Arteta admits it is vital for Arsenal to get into the top four next season.

Arteta added: “It is fundamental for the future of this club to play in the Champions League every season.

“We need to make a lot of good decisions, put a lot of good work together, and make sure we maximise our resources on and off the field.”