Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger sends Tottenham warning ahead of stadium move

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned rivals Tottenham Hotspur they face years of austerity in the transfer market following the move into their new stadium. Spurs will leave White Hart Lane at the end of the current season are due to start life at their new home at the beginning of the 2018-2019 campaign.

The 61,000 capacity ground, which will also play host to matches in the National Football League (NFL), will cost in the region of £750m ($971.4m) and represents a substantial investment for the club. Chairman Daniel Levy has already indicated that the club's transfer dealings will be affected by the move.

Tottenham's rivals Arsenal know all-too-well the problems which come with moving into a new stadium. the Gunners moved into the Emirates Stadium in 2007 and it took many years for the club recover financially. Wenger was hindered in the transfer market, leading to the sales of Cesc Fàbregas and Robin van Persie – among others.

And Wenger has warned Tottenham they face similar issues to Arsenal in the coming years.

"Very difficult, much more you can imagine," he told reporters when asked about a move into a new stadium, according to Sky Sports. "First of all, you face financial restrictions, which we did. Overall, it might be less in future because you have more income.

"Secondly because you don't feel at home like you were before. And you need to recreate a kind of history to feel comfortable and to feel like you play at home. I would say it can take two years [to feel at home]."

Wenger's run of finishing every Premier League season ahead of Tottenham is braced to come to an end with Arsenal trailing their near-neighbours by 14 points heading into the north London derby on Sunday, 30 April. The Frenchman has turned down the changing of the guard however and insists it is not the club's priority.

"When you finish 20 years above them, it's not important and now suddenly it becomes important," he said. "Yes, it matters, of course. We want to be stronger than Spurs, we want to be stronger than everybody."