Arsene Wenger fears Arsenal can't spend as much as rivals and will be restricted to a 'maximum of three new signings'

The Gunners manager last week agreed to a two-year contract extension despite missing out on the Champions League and was widely expected to have a busy summer

Ben Burrows
Sunday 04 June 2017 14:46 BST
Comments
Arsene Wenger fears Arsenal won't be able to spend as much as their rivals
Arsene Wenger fears Arsenal won't be able to spend as much as their rivals (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will be restricted to a maximum of "two or three" new signings this summer.

The Gunners manager last week agreed to a two-year contract extension despite missing out on the Champions League and is expected to have a busy summer with the futures of both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil firmly up in the air.

But Wenger fears the almost infinite resources available to other clubs means Arsenal will have to be more careful with their own spending.

“Between a maximum of two or three," he said when asked by beIN Sports about how many signings he is expecting to make this summer. “We cannot spend as much as many other clubs because some clubs have external resources that allow them to be basically unlimited."

Wenger has money to spend and has pledged to mount a sustained title challenge next term but despite being linked with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Riyad Mahrez the Frenchman has called for perspective when evaluating the business he and the club do.

“We can spend money because we have managed the club well," he added. "Let’s not forget the amount of money spent is not a guarantee of success. We have to be clear what we understand as a big signing. Is [Rob] Holding a big signing for you or not?

“When you buy a player for £40million, everybody will have at the start a positive judgement. When you buy him for £2million, he can’t be good?

“That means a big signing is not necessarily linked with the amount of money spent.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in