Prestige not finances important for Wenger
CHAMPIONS League qualification may be worth around £35m per season to Arsenal, but boss Arsene Wenger insists a financial windfall will not be on his mind when the Gunners face Besiktas in tonight’s group stage play-off.
Wenger says the result of the two-legged tie, which concludes in London next week, will not affect his plans to sign more players before the 1 September transfer deadline, adding that prestige of reaching the competition proper for a 17th successive campaign is more important than the club’s bank balance.
“It doesn’t affect too much my transfer policy. Financially it’s a big game, but that’s not the most important thing,” said the Arsenal manager, who is without injured pair Kieran Gibbs and Yaya Sanogo.
“We want to compete at the top level and want to fight with the best in Europe. That’s the point of this competition for us, not the financial consequences. We have always in the history at the club adapted to our finances. What’s very important is you want to play against the best.”
Arsenal have contested a Champions League play-off six times, winning both legs of both ties on each occasion.
FACTFILE: BESIKTAS
Besiktas, managed by former West Ham defender Slaven Bilic, finished third in the Turkish Super Lig last season, behind Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, and beat Feyenoord 5-2 on aggregate in the previous round
Striker Demba Ba hit a hat-trick against Feyenoord earlier this month on his first start for Besiktas following a summer move from Chelsea