Chief Executive: Arsenal Will Have Summer Money Available

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has insisted that the club have money available to spend in the summer, despite being particularly quiet during the January transfer window.

The Gunners released their financial figures for the second half of 2011 today, and boasted a £63 million profit in player sales for the period, as well as a cash reserve of £115.2 million.

And while the club have always insisted that they must profit before making player purchases, Gazidis has revealed that there will be money available this summer to bring new players into the fold as Arsenal continue to compete alongside big-spending clubs.

"We have a healthy cash balance of £115 million at the half year, but it is important to understand that not all of this money is available to spend on transfers," he explained.

"The reason for that is that we have running costs during the year. We get a lot of our money up front from season ticket renewals.

"We have running costs at the Club; the players' salaries and so on. So that amount goes down during the year. At the same time, we also have to keep some in reserve in case things do not go our way.

"But having said all of that, there is money available. We do not talk about an exact figure and there is a very good reason why - because it would impact our negotiating position with other clubs and that would mean that we would not be able to do what we want to do as efficiently as we want to do it.

"But we do have money that is available. We have to invest efficiently, we have to do it sensibly as we do not have the kind of money that other clubs have. But we have enough I believe, if we do it well, to be able to compete at the very highest levels of the game."

Gazidis lauded the efforts of Arsene Wenger to make the most of limited budgets over the years, saying that the Frenchman is the best man for the job at Arsenal.

He added: "We have a manager who has a fantastic track record over time of getting those types of decisions mostly right."

Gazidis also moved to quash speculation that Arsenal may not attract big players if the side fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, saying: "In terms of players selecting clubs based on the Champions League, I think there are very few clubs in the world you would go to ahead of Arsenal in terms of consistently being there.

"So I do not believe it affects our ability to attract top players and in fact, our Champions League record is a fantastic advertisement for this Club and a reason to come here.

"The fact that we have a healthy financial platform means that we can continue, as we look forward, to consistently be competing at the very top of the game and in the Champions League looking forward as well. I do not see this adversely affecting our ability to attract players or retain the top players that we have."