Arsene Wenger speaking in 2016 : Gunners

I still criticise that stance. Our refusal to spend money when we actually had a lot of it, in a much softer market has cost us very very dearly. No one was asking for him to spend £300m in a summer, but buying just an aging goalkeeper when you have over £200m in reserve in the bank is ridiculous and this attitude contributed significantly to our downward spiral.

Now we are in a much harsher economic environment with a more stubborn market where our cash reserves are much less useful. We wasted a huge opportunity to win big trophies and further solidify our position as a big club because Arsene was too frugal. I love the man but let’s not re-write history here.