Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal’s 1-0 win over north London rivals Tottenham proves they can thrive without any big-money signings.
Wenger has endured a frustrating transfer window marred by his failure to fulfil the Arsenal board’s promise to finally splash the cash after eight years without a trophy.
The Gunners boss missed out on Luis Suarez, Gonzalo Higuain and Luiz Gustavo and was subjected to vitriolic abuse from Arsenal fans after his team’s opening day defeat at home to Aston Villa.
With the transfer window due to close late on Monday, Wenger concedes he may have to go through the first half of the season with free transfers Mathieu Flamini and Yaya Sanogo as his only signings.
But if that is the case, he takes heart from the way his side out-played Tottenham, who included five of the seven players signed at a cost of over £100 million to off-set the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.
“It was a convincing win overall,” Wenger said. “It was our fourth game in two weeks and I knew we could suffer a bit at the end through tiredness.
“But we showed aspects of our game, commitment, desire and defending, that people don’t expect to see from us.
“This team has lost one game since March in all competitions and you don’t do that with average spirit.
“I’m not against spending money but I only want to add super quality to our squad.
“Tottenham got a lot of money for Bale. They have to invest it. I can understand that. The need is different for us.”
While Wenger maintains he is happy enough with his current squad, he has been linked with deadline day swoops for Real Madrid trio Karim Benzema, Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria, while he could also return with a second offer for Newcastle’s Yohan Cabaye.
“In 24 more hours maybe we can surprise you, maybe not,” Wenger said.
“I am ready to pay what we can afford, even if the price is a bit over the mark, as long as it’s not crazy.”