Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger set to spend big in January transfer window

Talk of Arsenal and transfer war chests is treated with scepticism by fans long used to seeing the club pay more attention to strengthening their balance sheet than their squad.

But The Sweeper understands that Arsene Wenger will finally dip into the vast kitty that has largely remained untouched for five windows while new signings have been funded by the sale of prize assets.

There is up to €75 million from existing cash resources available for the manager to use in January, as well as an additional €37m in the summer, when the club will receive the first instalment of the newly agreed €186m sponsorship deal with Emirates that runs from 2014.


It is believed that Wenger is so concerned at the possibility that Arsenal will not secure a top-four Premier League finish that he will sanction a major overhaul of the squad.

The manager has accepted that the current squad is not strong enough to guarantee one of the Champions League places and he will approve a series of bids which could result in an unprecedented €62m of new talent arriving at the club.

The Gunners are looking to reinforce the goalkeeping, defensive midfield, striker and attacking midfield positions and have already made moves to bring in some of their top targets, who include Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina and Atletico Madrid’s Adrian Lopez. Thierry Henry has also agreed to rejoin Arsenal for a third spell, on loan from New York Red Bulls.Demba Ba figures high on an Arsenal January centre-forward shortlist that is headed by long-term target Adrian Lopez.

But the club’s big reservation surrounding the purchase of the Newcastle United striker is the state of his knees.

A €9.3m release clause in Ba’s Newcastle contract makes him an attractive window target for a number of Premier League clubs on the back of a return of 10 goals this season, which places him equal third in the Premier League scoring charts.

However, the Gunners are concerned about the fitness of the 27-year-old, who failed a medical at Stoke in January 2011 before securing a move to Newcastle the following summer after the north-east club opted to overlook his medical issues.

Several fringe squad players are up for sale, including Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Sebastien Squillaci, Lukas Fabianski and, even Emmanuel Frimpong, which could reduce Arsenal’s expenditure.

Nevertheless, the Emirates Stadium promises to be a hive of transfer activity and, for once, Arsenal will be net buyers.