Wenger promised £70m transfer kitty
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis says Arsene Wenger will have a whopping £70million to spend on new players this summer.
Wenger, who has been noted for his frugal approach to transfers in recent seasons, has been promised big funds to spend with the club now boasting a strong financial position.
The Gunners are close to paying off the debt owed on the Emirates Stadium, and with season tickets and money from player sales boosting the coffers Wenger will be handed vast amounts of cash to improve his squad for the new season.
This year we are beginning to see something we have been planning for some time, which is the escalation in our financial firepower, said Gazidis.
Im talking about an extra £70million of additional, high-margin revenue which we will be able to use.
We have a certain amount which weve held in reserve and we also have new revenue streams coming on board. All of these things mean we can do some things which would excite you.
We can think about all kinds of things.
Its thought that Wayne Rooney, Stevan Jovetic, Gonzalo Higuain and Marouane Fellaini are just a handful of the players Wenger is chasing, although all will cost in excess of £20million.
However, Gazidis has urged Wenger to look beyond the price tag, and says the club can comfortably afford players costing around £20million.
We could do that [buy a £20million player], we could do more than that, he added.
It is going to be the players that Arsene believes in.
He is pretty blind to price tags, he looks at what he sees with his eyes and makes judgments based on that, and not on reputations and prices.
