I’m willing to spend - Wenger

Arsene Wenger insists he is prepared to spend big on a new striker at Arsenal this summer, but warned that any targets have to satisfy a four-pronged demographic to justify their fee.

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Arsene Wenger insists he is prepared to spend big on a new striker at Arsenal this summer, but warned that any targets have to satisfy a four-pronged demographic to justify their fee.

The Frenchman has been frustrated thus far in the transfer window, failing with moves for both Leicester City's Jamie Vardy and Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, but remains optimistic that he will strengthen his squad ahead of the Premier League season.

The Gunners, who start their campaign at Liverpool next Sunday, are likely to be forced to play 20-yearold Chuba Akpom up front for the opening weeks as Olivier Giroud returns from Euro 2016 while Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck recover from injury.

Wenger, speaking after watching his side defeat Viking FK 8-0 in Norway, said: “It's not the prices, it's the players. The money is never a problem if you have to pay what is requested.

“The price of a player is down to four ingredients; one is the talent, two is his age, three is how much you expect him to improve your team, and four is his resale value. If he ticks all four boxes then the price is not that important. You have to find the player.

“At the moment I'm focused on the players we have. Today we didn't have Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka and Alexis Sanchez, who will play [against Gothenburg] on Sunday.

“We still have Mesut Ozil at home, and Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny too. We also have young players who came on and did well. We do not have to panic but we are on alert in the transfer market so that we can make the right move when the opportunity comes up.” – The Independent