Wenger wants to be judged on league finish

Arsene Wenger believes the "real value" of his Arsenal side must

always be measured by their performance in the Barclays Premier League

rather than on the balance sheet.

Earlier this week, the club's parent holding company announced

half-yearly figures which revealed a profit of £17.8million generated by

player sales - and cash reserves of £123million.

There have been

calls for the Gunners boss, who brought in Spain international

full-back Nacho Monreal for £8.5million on January transfer deadline

day, to spend big next season as he looks to bring the squad back into

contention for a long-overdue sustained assault on the title.

While

Wenger accepts simply splashing the cash is no guarantee of a quick

fix, the Arsenal manager does believe with some further additions, his

squad can go on to deliver a first trophy since 2005.

"There is

only one trophy and that is the championship. The real value of the team

is where you finish in the championship," said Wenger, who takes his

team to Tottenham on Sunday looking to reduce the gap in the race for

Champions League qualification.

"Let's see where we finish and then let's see how we can strengthen the team.

"But if it was just sorted out by the numbers, you would always have Chelsea or Manchester City champions every year.

"Chelsea finished sixth last year, and that is the real value of the team for me.

"What

is important now is to see where we finish and after that strengthen

the team and come back and fight for the championship.

"I think

we have the basis. If you are really interested in deep analysis of the

team's potential, I can sit down with you and show you why we have the

potential to do it and then we can have another discussion again."

Despite

Wenger's continued confidence in a group of players who have again

failed to deliver this season - crashing out of the FA Cup to Blackburn

and then soundly beaten by Bayern Munich in the first leg of their

Champions League last 16 clash - Arsenal at least seem to finally have

found some form in the Premier League.

The Gunners head across north London defending a five-match unbeaten run, with three victories on the bounce.

"In

the last 12 games, we have won eight, drawn two and lost just two, so

our record in the Premier League is quite good," said Wenger.

"What we want to do is maintain that in the last 11 games. I said after the Chelsea game that we cannot drop points.

"We

go into every single match like it is a must-win game and we will have

exactly the same approach (for the rest of the season)."

While

victory for Arsenal would blow the race for a top-four finish wide open

again, if Spurs were to win, they would open up a seven-point lead over

their arch-rivals - whom they have not finished above in almost 20

years.

Arsenal forward Lukas Podolski, however, insists nothing will be settled either way on Sunday.

"They

are a very good team, very strong. I like derbies, it will be a tough

match, but we have the quality to win there," said Podolski, who scored

in Arsenal's 5-2 win over 10-man Spurs at the Emirates Stadium in

November.

"It is something special when it is a derby, for the

fans and for the club. When you play away at your rivals you must fight

for the three points."

Podolski added on Arsenal Player: "It is a big game, but it will not decide who will play in next season's Champions League.

"We have 11 matches to go and every match is like a final and we must fight to get into the Champions League next season."

Meanwhile, both clubs have warned any offensive chanting and anti-social behaviour will be clamped down on.

A

message on the Arsenal website read: "Arsenal football club does not

tolerate discrimination of any sort and will be working closely with

Tottenham Hotspur and the Metropolitan Police in order to take action

against anyone heard using abusive, offensive or obscene language."

 

There were reports on Saturday night that an Arab consortium is considering making a bid for Arsenal in the near future.

The

Sun on Sunday and Sunday Telegraph both reported the interest, with

funds for the bid said to be coming from Qatar and the United Arab

Emirates.

American Stan Kroenke is the club's majority shareholder, while Uzbek Alisher Usmanov also holds a significant stake.

The

offer for Arsenal would reportedly see the potential investors bid

around £20,000 per share, making Kroenke's holding worth £830million.

Source: Fox Sport