Arsène Wenger believes that his Arsenal side boast one of the most vibrant attacking forces in the club’s history but that they still have some way to go before they can match the calibre of the unbeaten “Invincibles” of the 2003-04 season.

The Arsenal manager is also confident that the imminent re-signing of Fran Mérida, the Spanish tyro, on a two-year contract can only complement his team’s firepower as they attempt to win their first trophy in five years. Seventeen players have scored for them this season.

The 4-1 demolition of Alkmaar at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night took Arsenal to within a point of qualification for the first knockout round of the Champions League for the tenth successive campaign.

“Yes, there is depth [in the forwards], we have options,” Wenger said yesterday. “When you think last night, Tomas Rosicky came on, Eduardo [da Silva] came on, Theo Walcott was not there, Carlos Vela was not there, Nicklas Bendtner was not there. You have plenty of offensive options available.

“The Invincibles? Let’s say they have done it, we have it all to do. We have a good potential, I believe we have a fantastic technical level, we have a good spirit in the team. It is all good ingredients, let’s show that we can do it. At the moment, we are behind Chelsea [in the Barclays Premier League].”

Mérida caught the eye with a spectacular goal in the 2-1 defeat of Liverpool in the Carling Cup fourth round last week. The 19-year-old midfield player has accepted the offer of a new contract despite less-than-discreet overtures from other suitors.

“It’s massive for us that he’s signing a new deal,” Wenger said. “He has that quality of the pass in the final third and he sees things. And he’s aggressive. He’s a man on the football pitch. Despite his size, he’s ready for a fight.

“I can’t say I’m annoyed by other clubs going after our players because we do it as well. But we do it legally. The difference is that we do not do what is not allowed by the law. We try to get the best players from everywhere when it is allowed by the rules.”

Stan Kroenke, the American sports mogul, has moved to the brink of having to launch a takeover of Arsenal by purchasing 200 more shares in the North London club’s parent holding company, taking him to 29.9 per cent of the stakeholding.

Kroenke bought half of the shares from Peter Hill-Wood, the Arsenal chairman, which leaves him 71 shares short of the 30 per cent threshold that would force him to make a formal bid.

However, it is still believed that Kroenke is merely strengthening his position rather than preparing for a full takeover. Even for the Denver-based billionaire, the prospective total cost of about £460 million would be prohibitive.