Arsenal news: Ivan Gazidis claims the Gunners cannot afford to 'outgun' their Premier League rivals in transfer market

The Gunners have already confirmed the £35m capture of midfielder Xhaka this summer

Ivan Gazidis: Chief executive says club have 'exciting' new revenue streams coming in (Arsenal FC / Getty Images)

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has risked incurring the wrath of supporters by claiming the north London club cannot “outgun” their Premier League rivals in the transfer market.

The club have secured just one major signing ahead of the upcoming campaign, the £35m capture of Granit Xhaka from Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach, and have struggled to entice several targets to the Emirates Stadium.

Jamie Vardy, the Leicester City striker, and new Juventus signing Gonzalo Higuain both rejected their advances this summer while a £29.3m bid to sign Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette has also been turned down by the French side.

Despite reports of Arsenal having disposable income to the tune of £150m, Gazidis insists the 13-time champions of England have been forced to be prudent by their more wealthy competitors across the globe.

The 51-year-old told the New York Times: “We would not be successful if we simply went out into the transfer market and tried to outgun our competitors. We’re run in a self-sustaining way, and a way that we believe in, because we believe it gives us certainty for the future, and enables us to plan our future with confidence.

“That means we can’t afford to make huge mistakes in the transfer market. We can’t afford to outgun competitors that have far more money to splurge on transfer fees than we do. So we have to be very careful, very selective about how we do things.”

The future of manager Arsène Wenger has attracted intense speculation in recent weeks, too, with the Frenchman linked with the England job following Roy Hodgson’s resignation.

The appointment of Sam Allardyce, the former Sunderland head coach, has since put that suggestion to bed but Wenger has just one-year remaining on his contract.

Despite the former Monaco manager winning three titles at the club, Arsenal have not tasted success in the Premier League since 2004. Gazidis, however, insists his loyalty to the long-serving boss has nothing to do with nostalgia.

He added: “We don’t have any sense of nostalgia. Our support for Arsène Wenger is not based on the history of what he’s done for our football club, as extraordinary as that is. We’re very focused on the future.

“This is one of our core values is that we’re progressive and always moving forward. So what’s happened in the past is far less relevant to us as what’s happening as we look forward.”