Arsenal's unsuccessful season was a result of a number of decisions—both internal and external—which led a considerable number of Arsenal fans disillusioned over the season.

Arsene Wenger has been criticized for a variety of reasons‚ ranging from team selection to a lack of ambition in the transfer market. While one can hold him accountable for the former, the latter is not something he chooses to do, despite what one have might heard from him in the past.

What was glaringly evident in this Arsenal squad at the beginning of the season was the lack of a genuine ball winner—someone who could impose on a game with his stature. From whatever one can read and saw today, the board simply did not back their manager.

This was something which myself and the co-community leader of the Arsenal community always felt, and I even echoed those sentiments during Arsenal's miserable slump in mid-season. 

So, what within the board or decisions made by them resulted in Arsenal's failures?

CEO - A Position Empty Since April 2007

When David Dein left Arsenal in April 2007, Arsene Wenger must have felt a huge amount of pressure. It is now well documented that the charismatic Englishman was a major negotiator and had the contacts in the footballing world. Whatever you might say about his character, he was instrumental in bringing players at Arsenal.

Who did the board bring in to replace such a big figure? Keith Edelman—a man known more for his number crunching abilities than negotiating prowess. This was supposedly a stop-gap arrangement until the board could find a suitable replacement. 

However, Edelman got sacked midway through his term as Ken Friar was swiftly assigned the role to negotiate transfers.

Here is where the debacle began which would have left Arsene Wenger furious.

Mathieu Flamini's contract, which was up for renewal, was not given the necessary priority as the Frenchman decided to leave Arsenal because he didn't feel valued by the club. The Arsenal manager then had to endure the frustration of not bringing in anyone substantial to replace Flamini and Gilberto as the board proved to be a stumbling block at every point.

So when did the position get filled by a proper CEO? ONE YEAR AND EIGHT MONTHS (including two summer, and one winter transfer windows) later as Arsenal announced that they had hired Ivan Gazidis, the former deputy commissioner of the Major League Soccer in the USA.

Arsenal's head hunters clearly seemed to replicate Seymour Price—Mike Ashley's investment bankers assigned to find the club new owners. And what's worse? Wenger had to take on a dual role of negotiating transfers and coaching players which made his job all the more stressful.

Transfers such as Harvard Nordveit's move to the Gunners in the summer of 2007 took precedence—Arsene Wenger then travelled to Norway to negotiate a youngster's deal.

The board were standing still all this while—letting their man do all the work and making all their profits.

Declarations of a Summer "War Chest"

The board wanted to save its back, and in doing so drove Arsenal targets' prices up. Keith Edelman once bravely stated that Arsenal had cash balances of 70 million pounds freed up for transfers in a summer where Arsenal saw minimal transfer activity.

Then, more recently, Danny Fiszman (who is self-exiled in Switzerland) said that Arsenal could spend 30 million pounds on a single player. 

Whether that was a fact or a statement made to appease supporters in anyone's guess—but it did not help either way because nobody saw anything tangible at the end of the day.

These statements hindered the Arsenal's managers decisions and he made some interesting remarks about his frustration at the reckless remarks made by certain board members about transfer funds:

"If I tell you I have £250million, every player I call will cost three times more." 

He alluded that if he had the money available, he would spend it—this, contrary to many Arsenal fans' belief:

"When I am manager of a club I do with what I have available and you have never heard me complain about the money that was available. But as well I do not accept people to think that I am stupid enough to have £100million at my disposal and put it in the bank because I am scared to spend it."

He also had a strong message for certain elements within the board who kept revealing Arsenal's "healthy position" on transfer budgets:

"I believe the more everybody shuts up inside the club and doesn't talk about anything and works hard is the best."

All in all, it does look like the Arsenal board was doing its best to cover up the fact that there certainly wasn't that much money available for transfers—certainly not the amounts being stated in the press.

The Transfer Policy at Arsenal

Arsenal have a peculiar transfer policy. There are a number of figures bandied about in the press, but the truth is that Arsene Wenger gets a certain amount (say "x") to spend on players. 

"x" includes the new signings wages for the current year, and contract renewals for current players.

So, when Adebayor got a bumper pay-rise last season, the amount went out of that season's overall transfer budget.

The prudence at Arsenal cannot be appreciated more, but to tie up the manager's hands by combing transfer fees and wages for the current year means that Arsenal have a very limited leverage in the transfer market.

Politicking at the Top Level

Arsenal's boardroom currently stand divided. There are cliques at the top level, which has seen high profile departures over the past three years. Arsenal's slump on the field and the constant departures of players has been marked by a similar exodus at the board room level.

David Dein, pushed out of the board in 2007, went on to partner Alisher Usmanov—who then ushered him out of the newly formed Red and White Holdings to gain the acceptance of the board.

The Uzbeki is widely disliked by the Arsenal fans, who see him wanting control over the club for money and nothing else.

Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, who owns a hefty 15.9% of Arsenal's shares was also shown the door during this season—she then blasted the board for "not having manners."

Stan Kroenke, who was vehemently opposed until recently by the club chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, was then invited to hold a non-executive director's position on the board. 

This, coupled with a potential bidding war for Arsenal between Usmanov (who owns 25% of Arsenal's shares) and Kroenke (who owns 28.3% of Arsenal's shares), could escalate tensions in the board.

Half of Arsenal's shares are still owned by families such as the Carr family which have run the club for decades. Such dynastic ownership of Arsenal, while unique in today's climate, has divided the board and caused instability at the club.

The board at Arsenal is divided internally, and tried to hide behind the manager's success for a long, long time. But then, the fans started to turn on Wenger and he could no longer be a scapegoat for the board's ineptitude. He promptly made statements linking him to the then vacant Real Madrid post, which shocked Arsenal fans.

That message wasn't to the Arsenal fans as such—it was a warning to the board. They could no longer take Wenger for granted. They could no longer let him take all the blame for the happenings at Arsenal.

Whether Wenger and Gazidis will replicate the success of Dein and Wenger remains to be seen. Gazidis does looks like a suave and intelligent operator.

For now though, Arsene Wenger seems to have won a power battle of sorts at Arsenal football club.