It just demonstrates why we have come up short year after year, it has been about money, not trophies. It's also about Wenger's and the board's definition of competing at the top - in fact he uses the word "surviving" which is enough in itself to tell us everything. This would all be okay of at the same time the highest ticket prices in the world were not being demanded. That's the part none of them want to square away. 4th place is definitely viewed as a major achievement by the executives. Several key players have already disagreed with this policy by moving on. It would be hard to imagine any fan saying 4th was an achievement in terms of being "at the top". It irritates even more because we were so close on several occasions but refused to spend that little bit extra. The board wants a profit in the transfer window, Wenger gets them a profit, we get no trophies, that's the story. Their plan to let fair play compensate for their miserly approach was always doomed. And they must have known that. It was always just a stupid excuse.