Arsène Wenger will be given considerable funds to strengthen Arsenal’s squad this summer and boost the club’s challenge in the Barclays Premiership. Keith Edelman, the managing director, told shareholders on Thursday that a “significant sum” would be made available to the manager for new players in an attempt to improve on their disappointing fourth-place finish this season.

Arsenal have the facility to spend £40 million on players over the course of next season as a result of a loan from Barclays, but such an outlay is unlikely. Wenger is adamant that he needs only one or two more players of “super quality” and is concentrating his efforts on signing Franck Ribéry, the winger, from Marseilles.

Thierry Henry predicted better things for Arsenal next season after a second successive campaign without silverware. The forward said he had experienced slumps with the club before and knew that fortunes can quickly change.

“I’d be lying if I said we have been successful – we haven’t been successful for two years,” Henry said. “My first season at Arsenal [in 1999-2000] was not a successful one and the second one was the same. Then we went on to win the Double in 2002 so you never know what can happen.

“If everybody is fit and fresh I don’t even think about not winning the title [next season]. I think we’re as good as Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.

“I can understand losing the title race by a single goal but to be so far behind is hard to take.” Arsenal finished the season 21 points behind United.

“We’ve been here before and we’ve come out on top before. What comes around goes around,” Henry said. “Manchester United have won the Premiership this year but who would have said that they wouldn’t win it for three years in a row?”

Arsenal have struggled to settle in the Emirates Stadium after leaving Highbury last season. Although they lost only one game at home, they won 12, three fewer than United. Henry admitted that the move had proved more problematic than he expected, with Arsenal’s lack of history at their new ground robbing the club of some of its fear factor.

“I spoke to the boss about it and he raised a great point that when teams come to the Emirates they have no history of getting hammered,” Henry said. “They come fresh and have no history of losing a game.”

Henry said that Arsenal’s lack of width had hampered their season. “It’s a paradox. The Highbury pitch was smaller but we were finding more space,” he said. “Now nobody wants to stay on the wing to stretch a team and that makes a great difference.”