Edelman: Highbury cash not for players

Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman has warned boss Arsene Wenger the sale of Highbury will not see him handed transfer funds in the January window.

Wenger only signed Belarus international midfielder Alexander Hleb from VFB Stuttgart in the summer following the departure of skipper Patrick Vieira.

This weekend Arsenal will begin selling off 711 one, two and three-bedroom apartments which will be built at Highbury after the Gunners long-awaited move a few miles down the road to Ashburton Grove.

Despite the cash generated – prices start at £285,000 (€418,000) – Edelman revealed the money will be going towards the Gunners new £357m (€524m), 60,000 all-seater stadium rather than an influx of new players.

“The money won’t be available to Arsene Wenger, it’s just a plan to make the club financially stronger for the future,” said Edelman.

“We expect to sell the 711 units within the next few months but the money won’t register for a few years. In cash terms and team building terms we’ll have to wait to see the profits and the money.

“The first units are expected to be ready in three years, which is quite a long time to wait, so the team won’t benefit from the quick sales we’re expecting.

“The way it works is the money won’t show in the account until all the apartments are completed and that’s not going to happen until 2008 or 2010.

“All the current players have had a look around and they’re hugely impressed with the facilities. Some have even expressed an interest in the flats on Highbury.”

The Gunners may have suffered an indifferent start to the new campaign, losing Premiership fixtures at Middlesbrough, Chelsea and West Brom.

But Edelman believes support for Wenger’s men has not wavered and is confident fans will be clambering to buy an apartment on the Highbury site.

The East and West stands are both registered buildings and will not be altered - not even the windows – while the floor in the Marble Hall will remain.

Edelman believes the biggest selling factor for the club is the developer’s decision to keep the Highbury turf intact and use the pitch as a communal garden for residents.

“Keeping the two-acre pitch and converting it into gardens is very original,” he added.

“There will be a viewing gallery for the pitch, so that people who want to can go back and see how it used to look.”