David Raya has earned a pay rise

Morning.

It’s an Interlull Wednesday, perhaps the most Interlully of all Interlull days. International games for most of our players start tomorrow, and we’ll keep an eye on what they do as and when they’re in action.

Let’s start today though with a story from the BBC about David Raya receiving a new deal from Arsenal. Unlike recent extensions for the likes of Gabriel and William Saliba, which also came with pay increases, this doesn’t add any time to his current contract, but gives him a salary bump as a reward for his status as an important member of our first team squad.

It’s similar to the pay rise given to Leandro Trossard back in August, and while it’s a fairly unusual thing for a club to do, I think it makes sense when you look at in the context of where these players came from, and how things have developed at Arsenal. Like Trossard, Raya came from what we should probably call a financially mid-table club – because both Brighton and Brentford have, over the last couple of years, done well enough to be around the European places towards the end of the season.

As such, when they joined Arsenal they got a decent pay bump, but in terms of their status in relation to some of our top earners, they were probably some way back. Since then, Raya has become the unquestioned number 1 goalkeeper and one of the most consistent performers in the league, while only Bukayo Saka has more goal contributions for the team since Trossard arrived back in January 2023.

When you extend the contracts of players like Saliba, Gabriel, and others, the gap that already exists grows wider. Not to mention the fact that in order to tie down Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri to new deals this summer, Arsenal have significantly raised the salary floor. So, if you have a situation where two 18 year olds – as talented as they are – are in the same salary ballpark as senior players, or perhaps even ahead of them because they signed new deals – you’re going to face an issue.

It seems pretty simple to me that the way to keep those players happy, or to ensure that they don’t become unhappy at what you could easily argue is an imbalance in the wage packets, is to give them more money. Has Raya earned it? Absolutely. I think Trossard earned his too. Even if he was a player some people might have been happy to move on this season, based on his output he shouldn’t be left behind in salary terms because we’ve had to push the boat out a bit on some talented youngsters, and in order to keep our best players we’ve given them higher salaries too.

It’s quite difficult to apply a scenario which contrasts football with ‘regular’ workplaces, but imagine you’re in a job, you’re relatively senior, and the company hires a young person who hasn’t contributed what you have but they’re on the same money, or more, than you. I suspect you’d be pretty unhappy about that. So, by giving Raya and Trossard pay rises without extending their contracts means that Arsenal will ward off any dressing room disharmony. It makes sense to me.

Elsewhere, there was a big story in The Telegraph about a potential stadium expansion. I think a lot of it is quite speculative, but what is clear from all the reporting we’ve heard of late, it’s something Arsenal are definitely exploring. I think we’re probably still a long way from anything happening, because of how complicated it would all be – dealing with the local council, planning permission, construction, it doesn’t feel imminent. However, as noted when the new look board was announced recently, there’s some real property development experience on there, and that probably tells you what you need to know about this being part of our future.

The big issue about all of it is the impact it has on where we play. Wembley as a temporary venue seems the obvious option, but there’s also a trade-off. It might where we play home games, but it won’t be ‘home’ – and that’s something to consider. The long-term benefits of a stadium expansion are obvious, but there’s a bit of a price to pay while you’re going through that. Not just for the team on the pitch, but for fans who would have to endure that Wembley ‘experience’ countless times a season, not just for a cup final, and also for local businesses etc who depend heavily on the match-day footfall.

I guess there’s no way around it if you really want to expand – and improve – our stadium, but there’s a lot more to it than adding a few seats. No doubt we’ll hear more about this in the weeks and months ahead, but for now there are more important things to worry about. Which we can return to after the Interlull.

Ok, that’s your lot for today. Have a great Wednesday, back tomorrow with more.