By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS
ARSENE WENGER yesterday launched a vigorous defence of his Arsenal reign — and insisted it was more important to qualify for the Champions League than put any old trophy in the cabinet.
Gunners chief executive Ivan Gazidis, chairman Peter Hill-Wood and majority shareholder Stan Kroenke were all jeered by angry fans during a hostile 90-minute question and answer session at the club’s AGM.
Arsenal have failed to win any silverware for the last seven years but Wenger is adamant Champions League qualification IS a trophy in itself.
The manager insisted: “There are five trophies.
“The first is the Premier League, the second is Champions League, the third is to qualify for the Champions League, the fourth is the FA Cup and the fifth is the League Cup.
“I say that because if you want to attract the best players, they do not ask: ‘Did you win the League Cup?’ They ask: ‘Do you play in the Champions League?’
“My job is to deliver a team with the resources we have and I have never complained about that.
“I want a club to pay players from its own resources, there is no shame in that.
“But if everybody is devastated when we finish third in the league, I promise you I will not be here if you finish 15th one day.”
Wenger used his address to calm what was becoming the most heated atmosphere ever felt inside the Emirates Stadium’s plush Royal Oak Suite.
At one point, a desperate Gazidis needed to call order after being accused by one shareholder of “ruining the club” with his financial policies.
And other heated exchanges between furious shareholders and board members threatened to get out of hand.
Later, Wenger accepted such meetings can become “emotional”.
He said: “There were concerns, of course, and there is no better moment than the AGM to express those.
“It is sometimes emotional. I think as well, it’s a lot guided by fear.
“Our fans fear that we will not be capable to compete financially to keep our best players and you know that subject. And you knew that would turn up, that is nothing new.”
The AGM had come at a bad time for Wenger, who has seen Arsenal crash to lacklustre defeats against Norwich and Schalke in their last two matches.
The Gunners are already 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after just eight games and have been slammed for selling their best players each summer.
Arsenal made a staggering £65million profit from flogging stars during the 2011-12 season — 10 TIMES more than the previous campaign.
And the Gunners also have more than £150M sitting in their bank account and fans are fuming over the club’s failure to use that money to help win trophies.
However, Wenger hit back: “It is easy to understand — you ask any club, do you want to win the League Cup or be in the Champions League next season? And they will all give you the same answer.
“Of course we want both, but sometimes we are in positions where you cannot do both, when you have a short squad you have to make a choice.”
Gazidis had earlier claimed Arsenal would be able to compete with the big guns as UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations become more rigorously enforced.
He said: “As a consequence of this ambitious transformation in the next two years we will have the financial resources to sit and compete among the leading clubs in the world.
“That is an extraordinary achievement for our club. Financial success is relevant because it supports our football vision.
“The money we make is made available to our manager and he decides how to invest those funds.
“Arsene has done a magnificent job against the spending of our major competitors.”
Kroenke was asked whether dividends were to be paid to shareholders which would mean money being taken out of the club at some future stage.
The American tycoon, whose group also owns US sports franchises Denver Nuggets, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Avalanche and St Louis Rams, said: “This club is run through the board and I have always been respectful of that process. So those would be board decisions.
“Aside from that, as majority shareholder, I think it is good and bad for me, but it is clear that we have a record in sports around the world.
“We have never put any debt on this club for acquisition, never ever in any meeting said that money was not available to spend.
“I have told people over the years I have one regret with Arsenal — I didn’t get involved earlier.
“We have a record of reinvestment in our other clubs, and it’s there for everyone else to see.”
A feisty meeting also saw fans raise issues over ticket prices and the cost of food at the Emirates — where fish and chips will set you back £13.90.
