Arsene Wenger Admits He 'Spends Money Like His Own' As Arsenal Transfer Frustration Continues

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted he “spends the club’s money as if it’s his own” in a new book, amid criticism he’s not doing enough to sign top players in the transfer market, 90min reports.

The extract of quotes, taken from Game Changers: Inside English Football – written by former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley – show that Wenger knows all too well what it could mean if managers overspend and don’t see appropriate results on the pitch.

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Wenger has been reluctant to sign top names over the last few years, with the exceptions of the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, and his only real major capture this summer has been Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach. But Gunners fans are clamouring for Wenger to sign both a top centre half and world-class centre forward.

Such deals don’t seem to be forthcoming though, and Wenger’s new revelations could explain his reasons for his reluctance:

“I personally believe the only way to be a manager is to spend the club’s money as if it were your own, because if you don’t do that you’re susceptible to too many mistakes.”

“You make big decisions and I believe you have to act like it’s your own money — like you’re the owner of the club and you can identify completely with the club, because if you don’t do that I think you cannot go far.”

Arsenal have been linked with the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Alexandre Lacazette this summer, but the latter will likely not be joining the club while negotiations are still rumbling on for the German defender.

Wenger did however say recently that he’s only working in the best interest of the club:

“I do exactly 100 per cent of what I think is right. I think I’ve shown in 20 years that it doesn’t work too badly. You have to realise what is right and what is wrong. It is part of my job.”

“But at the end of the day I have to make a decision that is right for the club. I listen to every criticism that I get. But I have to analyse if it is emotional and not completely good advice.”