Arsenal need £200m to stay in the top four, says Ian Wright

Arsenal need £200m cash splash to stay in top four - Ian Wright

Feb 23, 2013 8:04:00 PM

The Gunners legend believes that, in order to remain in contention for the Champions League, they need almost three times the £70 million that is currently being touted

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has claimed that Arsene Wenger needs to spend £200 million if the club are to stand any chance of seriously competing for a top four spot in the Premier League.

The former Gunners striker responded to claims that Arsene Wenger will receive £70m in the next window with contempt, saying that they need to spend almost three times that amount to remain in contention for Champions League qualification.

His comments came after a late winner from Santi Cazorla prevented a draw against Aston Villa, which would have capped off a disappointing week for Arsenal, as they recover from successive cup defeats at the hands of Blackburn Rovers and Bayern Munich.

Wright was adamant that the touted transfer budget was not enough and also stated that they still need to replace Robin van Persie.

"£70m is not enough! If Arsenal are going to stay in the top four they are going to need £200m or so to really compete and attract the right players," Wright said, speaking on his Absolute Radio show.

"Losing Robin van Persie was an unbelievable blow of course, but the fact that they haven't looked to replace him with a real top quality striker is hard to take."

The former England international was also keen to assert the club's need to target the right of player as he criticised the manner in which Wenger has added to his squad following big-name departures.

"Arsenal can't be in the market for £15m players, they need to add a few world class £30m-plus players to start competing again," he continued.

"Players leave the club, it's the nature of football, Thierry [Henry] left, [Samir] Nasri left, Robin left but Wenger needs to replenish the squad in the right way and he's just not doing it at the moment. £70m isn’t enough."

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