As told by people such as Paul "Fatty" Vautin, Arko's negotiating skills often led a player to sign or re-sign with Manly for less money than they were being offered by other clubs. In his biography "The Strife and times of Paul Vautin", Fatty told how in the early 1980s Parramatta Eels coach Jack Gibson offered him a substantial amount of money to join the Eels. When he told Arthurson about the offer, Arko convinced him that living on the Northern Beaches and playing for Manly offered him a far better lifestyle than in the western suburbs, including asking Vautin to compare swimming at any of the peninsula's renowned beaches to having to swim in the Parramatta River, telling him "You'll catch Typhoid". Fatty ended up re-signing with Manly for more than his previous contract (on the provision that he used at least half of the money to buy a house in the area...another Arthurson incentive to remain at the club), but far less than what Gibson was offering.