Gunners still committed to €600m stadium

Arsenal insist they remain committed to their new stadium project at Ashburton Grove, rather than switching to Wembley, despite delays which are likely to hit boss Arsene Wenger’s transfer kitty over the next few seasons.

Arsenal have steadfastly maintained their budgets for the new £400m (€600m) stadium and strengthening the squad are completely different.

However, the whole concept behind the scheme was to ensure the club could strive towards some sort of financial parity with Manchester United.

After all, while Old Trafford holds 67,000 fans, Highbury can host 30,000 less and that means a significant gulf in revenue between the Barclaycard Premiership’s two leading clubs.

The day when revenues can rival United’s are now some way off, with the club having admitted the new 60,000-capacity ground will not open on schedule at the start of the 2005-06 season.

It therefore seems highly unlikely the club will be prepared to gamble too much in the transfer market when question marks remain over such an expensive project.

That has sparked renewed speculation that Arsenal could be tempted to look for an alternative, such as the new Wembley.

But director Danny Fiszman, one of the main driving forces behind the Ashburton Grove project, stressed: “It is a joke and often unhelpful because we have a very, very strong relationship with the London Borough of Islington.

“We are totally committed to Islington, we are totally committed to Ashburton Grove.

“Little question marks can start going into the heads of the (council) officials if they think for one minute we are just playing them around and that really we have another agenda. And Wembley is another agenda.”

He said in an interview: “Does it make me laugh? It does make me laugh. Is it unhelpful? Yes, it is unhelpful. Would I rather these people stuck to the truth? Absolutely.

“I am continuing full-time on this, as is (former club secretary) Ken Friar. Wembley has never been mentioned.”

Project Finance International magazine recently reported that the Royal Bank of Scotland have ensured themselves a get-out clause if they fail to persuade other lenders to back the project.

However, there have also been considerable planning difficulties, with the club having to overcome residents’ objections and move a waste transfer site to make way for the new ground.

Several issues, including even finding new stables for one resident who kept horses on land once owned by Railtrack, still need to be solved.

“Non-essential work will be phased out at the moment and brought back in,” added Fiszman.

“But the team required to finish off all the relocations and property issues will continue until we know that we have put it all in place.

“I am not going to waste or throw away what I have worked towards for the last two-and-a-half years of my life.”