Football
Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondent 7y

Arsenal can 'reclaim pride' against Bayern - chairman Chips Keswick

Arsenal's chairman says the entire club were disappointed with the 5-1 Champions League loss at Bayern Munich but insisted they will "reclaim pride" in the second leg.

Chips Keswick also cautioned clubs about committing to higher player salaries, but promised that Arsenal will "continue to invest rationally in our squad retention" as they try to convince Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to stay at the club.

Keswick, who was commenting on the club's latest financial results, also confirmed that Arsenal have already extended injured midfielder Santi Cazorla's contract for another season.

Arsenal declared a pre-tax profit of £12.6 million for the period ending Nov. 30, 2016, boosted by increased Premier League broadcasting revenues. But Keswick used part of his statement published with the results to address fan disappointment at the Gunners' recent results.

"Everyone, including Arsene [Wenger], our players, board and staff share our fans' disappointment at our first leg result against Bayern Munich but we will approach the second leg with professionalism and a desire to reclaim pride," he wrote.

"Unity has always been one of Arsenal's strengths as a club. We are very focused on producing a positive and exciting closing run and with the support of our fans I believe together we can achieve a successful and a memorable end to the season."

However, the statement did not address the future of Wenger, whose contract expires this season and has yet to decide whether to stay on.

While Arsenal's revenue shot up by about 20 percent, its operating costs also increased thanks mainly to higher player salaries. Arsenal handed new deals to Francis Coquelin, Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud, and brought in newcomers Granit Xhaka, Rob Holding, Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez last summer.

They have yet to tie Ozil and Sanchez down to new deals, though, with the star duo reportedly holding out for deals worth more than £200,000 a week. And Keswick warned that players' increased salary demands could cause problems for clubs in the future.

"As expected the increased Premier League broadcasting revenues have had a direct impact on player costs both in terms of transfer prices and player wage demands. Whilst these are the market forces that have contributed directly over time to the success of the Premier League I would sound a note of caution in light of the very material contractual commitments to future wages that clubs are taking on," Keswick said.

"Higher player wages are, once again, the single largest contributory factor in the Club's increased operating costs. ... Further work is required in the area of contract renewals and we will continue to invest rationally in our squad retention as we move forward."

Keswick added that "we have also taken up the options to extend the contracts of Club captain Per Mertesacker and Santi Cazorla" for next season. Arsenal had only announced Mertesacker's deal previously, although Wenger had said they would exercise the option to extend Cazorla's deal as well.

The Spanish midfielder hasn't played since October and was ruled out for the rest of the season this week after struggling to recover from foot surgery, with his current contract expiring this summer.

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