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Arsenal keeping transfers to a minimum
Highbury, July 18: Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has indicated that boss Arsene Wenger is unlikely to make any major forays in the transfer market this summer.
Highbury, July 18: Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has indicated that boss Arsene Wenger is unlikely to make any major forays in the transfer market this summer.
Wenger had been expected to have £10m at his disposal as he tried to bolster his squad to challenge Manchester United next season. But Hill-Wood hinted that Wenger, who is trying to persuade captain Patrick Vieira to sign a new contract, will have to rely on bringing through youth players instead of signing established stars.
And it has been reported that a back-up goalkeeper to Stuart Taylor could be the only arrival at Highbury before the start of the new campaign.
"It's pointless just spending money because the fans want new faces," said Hill-Wood. "Arsene's confident he has a couple of young players who can make the step up. "In a perfect world he wouldn't want to have to play them every week, but he thinks they are going to be good enough.
"We are trying to find a keeper, but it's been very difficult. Good keepers are few and far between."
Spiralling costs of Arsenal's move to a new stadium at Ashburton Grove have severely hampered their ability to compete in the transfer market. Wenger had been expected to sign a goalkeeper and bring in defensive reinforcements following the departures of David Seaman and Oleg Luzhny.
He was also linked with a move for Australian striker Harry Kewell, who instead left Leeds for Liverpool in a £5m deal.
"The transfer market's generally been very slow and we don't have a Russian billionaire bankrolling us," Hill-Wood told the Daily Star newspaper. "But you don't have to keep spending just for the sake of it. Arsene's been very successful in the transfer market and I think we are generally very relaxed."
Bureau Report
Wenger had been expected to have £10m at his disposal as he tried to bolster his squad to challenge Manchester United next season. But Hill-Wood hinted that Wenger, who is trying to persuade captain Patrick Vieira to sign a new contract, will have to rely on bringing through youth players instead of signing established stars.
And it has been reported that a back-up goalkeeper to Stuart Taylor could be the only arrival at Highbury before the start of the new campaign.
"It's pointless just spending money because the fans want new faces," said Hill-Wood. "Arsene's confident he has a couple of young players who can make the step up. "In a perfect world he wouldn't want to have to play them every week, but he thinks they are going to be good enough.
"We are trying to find a keeper, but it's been very difficult. Good keepers are few and far between."
Spiralling costs of Arsenal's move to a new stadium at Ashburton Grove have severely hampered their ability to compete in the transfer market. Wenger had been expected to sign a goalkeeper and bring in defensive reinforcements following the departures of David Seaman and Oleg Luzhny.
He was also linked with a move for Australian striker Harry Kewell, who instead left Leeds for Liverpool in a £5m deal.
"The transfer market's generally been very slow and we don't have a Russian billionaire bankrolling us," Hill-Wood told the Daily Star newspaper. "But you don't have to keep spending just for the sake of it. Arsene's been very successful in the transfer market and I think we are generally very relaxed."
Bureau Report