'Clubs should live within their means,' says Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger last night warned that football is in danger of going bust in the current climate.

The Arsenal boss backed Lord Triesman's damning verdict on football finance after the FA chairman claimed the English game is £3billion in debt.

Wenger insists Arsenal will always be run prudently but he worries about the future of football.

And he says it could be the fans who end up paying, especially if the next TV deal is lower than the current £2.7b agreement.

Wenger said: "Arsenal always have an eye on the finances. I feel that a club should be run within its own resources, so I cannot preach one thing and practise another.

"Sometimes we say no to a player if he doesn't fit into our wage bill. We believe balancing the budget is very important."

Wenger says the Premier League is "not untouchable" from the global financial meltdown.

He is critical of those spending beyond their means, saying: "Some clubs make, for example, £1,000 a month and spend £1,500, then you have those who make £1,000, spend £800 a month, and spare the rest.

"Is it possible to interfere in that? I don't know, I just think that if a company continues that way, they go bust.

"I would not like to take away the freedom to manage well or less well. What I would like to see is that you are only able to play with your own financial resources.

"To think 'OK, we lost £200million, somebody will come in for me and put that money in'. That's unfair competition, it's not a level playing field."

Wenger is also fearful that next year's new broadcasting deal could be significantly lower than the current one.

That would leave some clubs in danger as even Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore admits they have mortgaged themselves on the back of TV revenue.

Wenger said: "Why should the Premier League be untouchable?

"The recession means fans will have less money, the television companies will have less advertising revenue and that means that football will suffer.

"The next television deal could be lower, it depends how much they are touched by it.

"In the financial world the situation has run away and banks are going bust. Who pays for it? The taxpayers.

"So football could go the same way - the fans could end up paying." Wenger is against a salary cap as he believes cheats would find a way around it but suggests a wage bill should be related to a club's revenue.

"The only regulation I would like is that you could set a percentage so your wage bill does not exceed 60 per cent of your revenue, for example.

"Is regulation needed?

Maybe, because until now everybody thought it was fine that the market regulates itself, but we are seeing at the moment with the world's banks - it's not working."

This is an extract from the Manager's Monthly interview in November's i ssue of the Official Arsenal Magazine (£3.25). Call subscription hotline on 0845 88 00 445.

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