Arsenal announced pre-tax profits of £17.8 million ($27 million) for the half-year ending on November, 2012, bulging their cash reserves further up to £123.3 million ($187.1 million), leaving everyone associated with the club asking the same question: So will Arsenal finally spend all that money on quality players?
Arsenal are one of the best clubs in wringing out as much money as possible from their resources available -- although they could be better on the commercial side, but then that is tied to success as well -- but have always been criticized on their reluctance to sit on the excessive cash instead of spending it on players.
Arsenal's primary source of the half-yearly profits has been from the sale of their two best players Robin Van Persie and Alex Song.
However, chairman Peter Hill-Wood insisted the club were committed to keeping their top players.
"Although we were disappointed to see Robin van Persie leave the club, we have taken steps to secure our best players going forward and have recently signed Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson to new long-term contracts," he said in a statement.
"During this financial period we also invested £40.9 million in the acquisition of new players, Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud, and the extension of other player contracts. More recently we added Nacho Monreal to our ranks from Malaga."
The Gunners are about to endure an eight-year trophy drought and that is largely due to the talent drain that has seen some of the brightest talents in Europe depart the Emirates for seemingly greener pastures.
Some of it is partly because Arsenal have refused to match the wages offered by some of the richer clubs, but mainly it is because the North London club have seemed content to just secure a Champions League place, prompting the players to leave in search of silverware.
"Whilst we have our sights set on a 16th straight season in the Champions League, our aims are higher, our ambition is to win trophies," Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said in a statement. "No-one is more focussed on that than our manager Arsene Wenger, our majority shareholder Stan Kroenke and the board and it is what we work towards every day.
"Our ability to compete at the top of the game here and in Europe is underpinned by our financial performance."
Words that have been spoken time and again by the Arsenal board, without any signs of results improving on the field.
That phase of transformation from Highbury to the Emirates is over, with the stadium debt well in control and commercial deals well in the process of making the club even richer.
The £150 million ($225 million) Emirates deal will kick in from next season, while Arsenal are also set to agree a lucrative kit sponsorship contract with either Nike or Adidas once the current one ends in 2014.
Arsene Wenger himself keeps stressing the fact that there is money to spend, but he will only use it for the right player.
Money always talks in the transfer market, as the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain will attest to; so if there is cash to spend, the right players will always be available.
Arsenal have been linked with quite a few big names over the past couple of months, and bringing in the likes of Victor Valdes, David Villa, Stevan Jovetic and Victor Wanyama will go a long way into making the current team from pretenders to winners.
