Saturday, 27th September, 2014
Arsene Wenger has warned Tottenham Hotspur that they will be under increased pressure to get into the top four if they move to a new stadium.
Spurs are planning to build a new stadium adjacent to their current home ground White Hart Lane and are continuing "discussions with multiple providers of finance" in search of "the optimum financing package for the project".
Wenger has firsthand knowledge of the problems a club have to encounter when they decide to build and move to a new stadium. Arsenal moved to the £400m Emirates Stadium in 2006 from Highbury
They have only recently started to reap the benefits of the new stadium after years of setting aside funds for interest repayments which severely affected their ability to compete in the transfer market for the top players. Arsenal also lost a lot of players in the period due to a lack of success at the club.
"If you look at English clubs who have built a new stadium and look at where they have finished, then it tells you how difficult it is", Wenger was quoted as saying by the BBC.
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Wenger knew that the stadium move would be followed by the most crucial period in the history of Arsenal. The manager was under constant pressure to deliver Champions League qualification season after season with nominal transfer funds to upgrade the squad.
The Frenchman feels that the stadium move increased the pressure on Arsenal to deliver the goods on the pitch and ensure Champions League qualification.
"I knew always that would be the most sensitive period in the history of the club", he said.
"When we were in a position where we had to be in the Champions League just financially and you get into March/April and are like that [not in top four], the stress is terrible because you feel the future of the club is at stake and you have not a lot of margin [for error] – every point you lose can be dramatic."
Arsenal will take on Tottenham later today at the Emirates Stadium.
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