Arsene Wenger has been promised a £70 million transfer kitty after Arsenal revealed it is one of Europe's richest clubs.

Figures unveiled this morning show the club's move to the Emirates Stadium has driven a near-50 per cent increase in turnover to more than £200 million for the year ending May 31 2007.

Only Real Madrid turned over more money in Europe, but with operating profit of £51.2 million, up 274 per cent, the Barclays Premier League club now have a level of profitability far in excess of their Spanish counterparts.

Match-day revenues of £3.1 million per game at the new 60,000-capacity stadium are double those generated at Highbury, and have seen Arsenal leapfrog Manchester United and Chelsea, whose respective turnover for the same period was £167.8 million and £152.8 million.

Keith Edelman, the Arsenal managing director, said that much of the funds would go to Wenger to spend on squad strengthening.

"I think we are in a very good position," Mr Edelman said. "Clearly, Arsene's performance and the team's performance on the pitch has been outstanding, obviously backed up by our very strong financial position.

"We gave Arsene a budget in the summer and he didn't even spend all of it on transfers and, hopefully, we'll be able to carry that forward into future years.

"We have got plenty of financial firepower to make the transfers Arsene wants to make. We had over £70 million of cash at the end of the year, and if Arsene wants to spend that money we will make it available."

The results posted this morning have been achieved despite the lack of a rich foreign owner, the source to which most rivals have turned to increase their spending ability.

With Red and White Holdings Limited, backed by Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire, recently increasing its stake in the club to about 21 per cent, rumours have abounded of a possible takeover bid.

But Mr Edelman insists that the results show there is no reason to change the way in which the club is run.

"We think it's very important as a board that the club develops revenues it generates itself and is not dependent on people putting money in every year, because that's not a very stable basis on which to run a club," he said.

"We regard ourselves as custodians of the club and fans as well. It's important that the club does have a stable financial base.

"If you look at the shareholders and the board, we are all here because we love the club. Yes, we want to run it well as a business, but only because we want to be a great club.

"That could be contrasted with what could be called financial owners, who come to purchase clubs to make money out of them and they don't have that affinity to be a rabid fan — to live, breathe and eat Arsenal Football Club."

Peter Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman, added. "The best way that Arsenal can continue to deliver success is by maintaining a business that pays its own way.

"This philosophy helped establish our objectives for the club's move away from Highbury, and Emirates Stadium now provides Arsenal with the increased income, profitability, cash generation and firm financial foundations from which we will continue to build trophy-winning Arsenal teams for many years to come."