Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold was brutally honest with fans in a chat at a pub that is going viral online.
A video clip has been shared of Arnold supposedly responding to a question about Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, insisting that money is no issue for the club this summer, with targets to be decided based on whether or not the manager wants them.
See below as Arnold ends the clip by remarking that fans probably don’t want him to be the one deciding on which players to sign, asking “doesn’t that ring a bell?” in what sounds like a clear dig at his predecessor Ed Woodward, who was hugely unpopular after a number of poor decisions in his time at Old Trafford…
Fans aked is De Jong done:
Richard Arnold: pic.twitter.com/WH5NJQb63B
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) June 18, 2022
Arnold also supposedly admitted that last season was a nightmare for him, with the Daily Star carrying several of his quotes as he pulled no punches about the current state of the team.
“We spent a billion pounds on players, we spent more than anyone in Europe,” Arnold said.
“I am not thrilled with where we are, it doesn’t sit easy and we’ve got to get this sorted. Last year was a f*****g nightmare. I was hating every minute of it.
“You can’t go to our training ground and go ‘show me where that billion pounds is here’. I don’t think we’ve done well with the money we’ve spent historically. We’ve blown through an enormous amount of money.”
It’s certainly refreshing to hear this kind of honesty from someone at United, and it will be interesting to see if things improve now that Arnold has replaced Woodward.