Arsenal Transfer Rumour: £55m Summer Budget To Be Balanced On Van Persie's Wage

Arsenal are currently working out a balance between how much money to invest in the current squad this summer, and how much to spend on new players, according to numerous reports, as the club's Supporters Trust meet this week.

The Daily Telegraph reports that the Gunners have a kitty of around £55 million to spend on building up the club in the summer, though that amount depends on whether the side qualify for Champions League football at the end of the season.

Arsenal's fortunes have been widely discussed amongst football pundits over the years, with the club needing to break even while other top four sides such as Chelsea and Manchester City have lost large amounts of money in their pursuit of trophies.

While Arsenal fans have continually called on the club to spend big to make them title contenders, Arsene Wenger has argued that with assets like the Emirates to pay off, the north London club needs to stay viable within a particularly unstable economic climate.

The paper claims that Arsenal spend in excess of £125 million on player wages, while £36 million is spent paying back debts for the Emirates. Taxes take away £13 million from the club, but all of this is somewhat offset by season ticket money amounting to around £65 million.

With all this taken into account, Arsenal's cash reserves of £160 million are significantly decreased, to around £55 million. But this will need to cover player wages, of which one will be particularly high given his current value across the globe.

Robin van Persie is said to have entered into talks with the club over a new deal, but it weighs heavily that the striker could easily earn up to double his wage elsewhere when his contract runs out in 2013.

The Dutchman is currently on around £80,000 per week, but his wage would go up to over £100,000 under a new deal still being negotiated. He would also be paid a fee for renewing his contract on top of his wages.

Arsenal fans know well the feeling of their stars holding all the cards against the club over their contracts; Samir Nasri is a prime example of a player pushing through a big-money move because he was in the last year of his contract. And with Theo Walcott also in the last 18 months of his deal, van Persie's agreement with the club could prove pivotal to their long term future.