Arsene Wenger has reacted angrily to questions about Arsenal's transfer strategy, insisting would be willing to spend £ 300m on new signings if he could find players worth the money.
The Frenchman came under fire from the north London club's supporters again following the stalemate with champions Leicester City, a match which badly exposed their lack of fire-power.
Alexis Sanchez started in a more attack-minded role but was denied, along with Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla, by an effective Leicester defensive rearguard and could have suffered another damaging defeat if not for a late succession of Petr Cech saves.
Speaking at full-time, Wenger said: “Why do you say I'm reluctant [to spend]? I don't understand that. If I buy a player for £45m, I have done well, if I listen to you, but spending money in itself is not a quality.
“I would spend £300m on a player -if I had £ 300m. We are a club with 600 employees who we need to have a responsible attitude [towards] as well.
“It is surprising that you come out of football games and you don't speak about football games, you have to speak about money. If we find players who can strengthen our team then we are not reluctant to spend the money.”
Pressed directly on the continued cries from the Arsenal supporters, imploring him to sign new players this summer, Wenger replied: “They are highly influenced by the media. That's part of the process today but we try to make the right decisions. It is as simple as that. There is a whole team working on strengthening the team and I am not the only one.
“Nobody speaks about the performance of Rob Holding today -he is English, he is 20 years old, you should be happy. But I am sorry he didn't cost £ 55m so it cannot be good.
“That is, for me, what is most disappointing - we don't speak about the performances of the players anymore. We just speak about anything else but football and I believe it is not right.”
The Independent