Arsenal is looking to “force their players” into taking a pay cut as the club deals with the harsh realities of the Covid-19 outbreak claims the Sun.
The Gunners, like most teams, will suffer some loss of earnings because of the effects of the pandemic on football leagues across the club.
Several teams around the world have got their players to accept wage cuts to boost their finances in this tough time.
However, clubs in the Premier League have struggled to get their teams to accept wage cut proposals and Arsenal is one of them.
The Gunners have been in talks with their players over taking a 12.5 percent pay cut for the next 12 months, but their players have turned down the proposal.
The report also claims that the players prefer to defer a portion of their wages, but the club wants them to take cuts instead.
The club has continued to pay its casual staff their full earnings and their board members have even taken cuts to their salaries just to show the players how it is done.
The club is still negotiating with the players and the report does claim that some players have agreed to make the cut, however, most of them have refused.
After that sh*t show of a season I would take at least 90% off the wages!
They don’t deserve that kind of a wage!
Arsenal find breakthrough in player negotiations over salary commitment to help cover potential financial losses related to #Covid_19 crisis. #AFC are now close to a majority agreement on wage cuts of up to 12.5% per month over the next year @TheAthleticUK https://t.co/FWd6s3kFSs
Situation delicate as nothing signed, players have different circumstances & some will hold valid reasons not to back deal. So a lot needs sorting but Arsenal stand to become 1st PL squad to agree cuts. Arteta intervention (+ Bellerin work throughout) crucial #AFC @TheAthleticUK
– David Ornstein
You’re welcome
Arsenal find breakthrough in player negotiations over salary commitment to help cover potential financial losses related to #Covid_19 crisis. #AFC are now close to a majority agreement on wage cuts of up to 12.5% per month over the next year @TheAthleticUK
Situation delicate as nothing signed, players have different circumstances & some will hold valid reasons not to back deal. So a lot needs sorting but Arsenal stand to become 1st PL squad to agree cuts. Arteta intervention (+ Bellerin work throughout) crucial #AFC @TheAthleticUK
– David Ornstein
You’re welcome
‘Arsenal stand to become the 1st PL squad to agree cuts’ …. nice one, Eddie 👍
Some on here take the view that our players should NOT accept any wage cuts ,in order to make life more financially difficult for Kroenke and hopefully help to force his sale of Arsenal to a human being! Their argument goes that with his sports franchises in USA being massively damaged too, he may well be forced into a sale. If ANYONE does not want him to have to sell, I suggest they cannot be both sane AND a real Gooner.
But my personal view is that this crisis and virus gives us the best chance we are ever likely to have to regain some real ethicsin reducing the disgusting wage levels of ALL Prem players, some far more than others but still ALL of them. At least by comparison to heroes in NHS and other heroic working people who are putting their own lives at risk to keep us healthy.
In my book there is not and never has been the remotest excuse for these obscenely awarded -awarded please note, not earned – salaries.
I crave Kroenke being forced to sell up with every fibre of my being . I detest his very name and all he stands for and respresents. He is to me a sort of Satan, is evil and when he is finally forced out our club can begin to live again and to seriously hope, for the first time since 2007, when he bought in, to properly challenge at the very top level again.
However, our players by seemingly refusing a cut of that proposed 12.5% with caveats included will NOT make the crucial differnce to him. What JUST, MAY is the fact that Trump with his imbecilic policies, is bound to far extend the death rate and the financial damage to that country than a normal human President would do and THAT will far more damage Kroenkes sports franchises with a far longer lock down when the virus rebounds again and again as it surely will, if Trump gets his way. He MAY NOT though, as in the USA, final decisions to lockdown or not are taken by the governor of each individual state and not by Trump.
In short there are far too many uncertainties and I do not feel that by our players refusing cuts , the key difference will be made in Kroenkes empire.
IN MY CONSIDERED OPINION OUR PLAYERS, ALL OF THEM AND ALSO ALL OTHER PREM PLAYERS, should donate a legally binding donation from their after tax pay(nett) to the NHS.
IF that should happen, I will be delighted but I doubt very much that players are actually THAT philanthropic. They will try to settle for a once only joint payment of a sizable sum to the NHS. That is simply not good enough and IMO, what WILL happen to all Prem players, save only MAYBE Man City and Man Utd, is that they will be FORCED by club and world economic reality to accept a permanent cut of perhaps 30%, even perhaps more and I will be thrilled if and when that happens.
Jon
I rarely comment now on posts that talk about us signing, tracking anyone. With the turmoil facing the world for a very long time to come I struggle to care about who is out or who might come in at the inflated pre Covid transfer fees. It just isn’t relevant in this crisis.
Whether or not the PL takes a world view rather than an introverted view of what the future holds, I am an old biddy who is fast losing my interest. Gone are the days of family groups going to the ground and just paying at the turnstile. When I was expected to become a Red member for a fee just to possibly get a ticket I knew the writing was on the wall
I understand the unwillingness to get Kroenke out of a hole but the harsh reality that the players are not willing to be team players in a crisis and frequently, prior to Arteta arriving, as GunneRay puts it, on the pitch either.
There are times when I think they have the right to be paid the full terms of their contracts but I then think of all the other poor devils who are on furlough, lost jobs or businesses and my heart sinks at the inability of much of the footballing fraternity to really, really look beyond their own privileged world.
I am sure they visit hospitals and day centres. I bet they do kick about sessions in deprived areas and do other good works too.
What upsets me deeply is that so many are taking wage cuts in the country as a whole just to keep society afloat and a band of sportsmen are taking an age to sort out a very simple matter
Jon, you and I agree then, a player should donate money from his nett pay, thereby not affecting the tax collected and by doing so, said players can directly organise where there donations go.
I also see nothing wrong in making it a legally binding donation, as this would protect the players from false accusations of not caring – my earlier article resonated with you and I only hope the players act quickly.