Arsene Wenger has been assured that he will have £35million-plus to invest in new players during the January transfer window.
By Steve Stammers
The Arsenal manager will be able to use the profits announced by the club last week.
“If Arsene wants to use that money during the winter window then, absolutely, he will be able to do it,” said chairman Peter Hill-Wood.
“We rely on him to come up with the right people and there will be funds available to him.”
That will reassure both Wenger and the fans as Arsenal go in search of their first trophy in seven years.
Their start in the Champions League, after the 3-1 home win over Olympiakos, has reaped a maximum six points. The new-look team have also had an encouraging start to the Premier League and are through to the next round of the Capital One Cup.
“We have been very pleased with the start,” said Hill-Wood. “But if the manager wants to reinforce the squad in January, he will be able to do that.
“The financial results were good and we want to put that money to use if Arsene decides he wants more players.
“I like to think that the profit shows we are running the club on the right lines.
“We are not able, for instance, to be able to afford to write off £180m. That is not how we work.”
Along with a number of other clubs like Chelsea and Paris St Germain, the Arsenal boss is a huge admirer of Falcao, the Atletico Madrid striker.
The prolific Colombia international destroyed Chelsea with a hat-trick in the UEFA Super Cup in August.
His buy-out clause is about £50m – but that could drop because of the country’s financial crisis.
If Atletico come down to the £40m, then Wenger could be interested.
Meanwhile, Theo Walcott is ready to sign a three-year contract extension.
