Arsenal: Arsene Wenger wants to leave the club in a safe financial situation

Arsene Wenger believes that his decision to spend judiciously in the market has built a good base for a new manager to come in and take the club forward in terms of results. The Gunners have gone 11 years without a league title and is under pressure to deliver, but the Frenchman insists that fans do not look at the bigger picture when criticising the team or the manager.

Arsenal signed only one player this summer in the form of Petr Cech from Chelsea, who has been an integral part of their campaign. They are currently at the top of the table along with Manchester City and have conceded only nine goals, which is bettered only by Manchester United. However, with the current injury crisis, the manager has been questioned repeatedly for his failure to bring in more players. The Gunners had seven first team players out through injury against Tottenham, a slight improvement from the 10 they were missing against Bayern Munich, where they were thrashed 5-1.

Wenger insists that he does not like splashing the cash on needless purchases as he considers the club his own and wants to save money for the time when a world class player is available. The 66-year-old has brought in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in the last two years, which is paying rich dividends this season in their quest to reach the top.

"I'll give myself merit for one thing: I've always treated Arsenal as if it belonged to me. I have sometimes been criticised for it — because I am not enough of a spender, not carefree enough," Wenger told L'Equipe, as quoted by the Mirror.

"I credit myself for having had the courage to apply my ideas and fight for them. Aside from that, I can understand why people might not agree. My great pride will be to be able to say the day that I leave, that I am leaving behind a good team, a healthy situation and a club capable of performing in the future.

"I could have said to myself: 'I am here for four or five years, we win everything', [then] I leave and leave the club on the verge of bankruptcy. For me, consistency at the highest level is the true sign of great clubs," he stressed.