Arsène Wenger warned yesterday that if times are hard in football at present, they could get harder. Yet as the credit squeeze tightens, the Arsenal manager believes that the North London club are better placed than most to emerge unscathed.

Arsenal are saddled with the cost of building the Emirates Stadium, with the £260 million debt covered by bonds that will be paid off over 25 years. It is one of the reasons why Wenger has little money to spend on strengthening his squad in the transfer window this month.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman remains positive about Arsenal’s long-term future. “I believe the way we have managed the club, we will come out in a very strong position,” he said. “We do not live on the edge, we live in a naturally healthy situation.

“We do not depend on one person, we do not depend on the banks, because we make our profit and we respect our balanced budget. I believe that we should not be in trouble. The other clubs? Well, there are about 15 for sale in England and no one is buying them.

“With a weak pound, it is more difficult, certainly. It was not long ago that the exchange rate was 1.4 or 1.5 \. Now it is 1:1. It’s a big handicap for English football. Some people in football still think that the market is like it was six months ago, but it’s not. Football will be as hurt as anyone in the economic crisis.”

Arsenal supporters may be pleased by Wenger’s optimism. Their club will not go bust, they will survive as others topple. It is, though, the lack of activity in the transfer market that will concern them.

For all the impressive promise of youth in his squad, Wenger needs to add experience if their challenge in the Barclays Premier League and Champions League is not to falter this season. At least, on the eve of their FA Cup third-round tie at home to Plymouth Argyle, the Coca-Cola Championship club, he admitted that he was still looking.

“I am telling the fans not to be affected by all the negative publicity around the club,” Wenger said. “A lot of what the club has done in the past three years, maybe it didn’t get enough credit. But in ten years’ time, people will realise that it was good work. If we can get an extra talent in, we will do it, but it has to be a special talent.

“First, you have to identify the player, then you have to convince him to come here. That is not easy. I have identified a few, I’m hopeful, yes, but it’s like promises that you are not 100 per cent certain to keep.”

Arsenal — or any club — are unlikely to be able to compete if Manchester City, with their billionaire Arab owners, enter the bidding. “They \ are in an exceptional situation that has nothing to do with the economic reality of the world,” Wenger said.

Yet despite Arsenal’s lack of substantial funds, they continue to be linked with the possible purchases of leading players — Mikel Arteta, the Everton midfield player, and Shay Given, the Newcastle United goalkeeper, among them. Wenger said yesterday that he had made “no inquiries” for either.

The Frenchman could be more active in the area of holding on to what he has got, with Kolo Touré having handed in a transfer request. The Ivory Coast defender has played little in recent months because of injury, but it is no secret that his relationship with William Gallas, his fellow centre back, borders on mutual antipathy.

“They get on much better than people think,” Wenger, who claims that Touré has now withdrawn his request, said. “Nobody can prove that fantastic friendship helps you to win football games. I have spoken to Kolo about it \ and I think he has changed his mind.”

Taking notice

Barclays Premier League managers offered their take on the story in The Times yesterday, below, which warned of the impact that the plunging pound will have on the European transfer market.

Mark Hughes, Manchester City I think everybody is aware of the current economic climate. The business world has obviously been greatly affected by that. From our point of view, we have owners that are in somewhat of a better position than other owners, which may be to our benefit, but we won't have a competitive advantage if we pay vastly inflated sums for players that don't warrant those fees.

David Moyes, Everton I can see how it can have an impact and I certainly think that it will affect things, but it's not affecting us at this present time. I don't think it's the January sales, I think it's the January top book price. I don't think there are sales in January and in the football market it's more expensive. If you want something, it's a dear buy and I don't think you get very much.