Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has stated his belief that the Gunners are now more able to financially compete with their closest rivals after what he called 'continual investment'. Key players are also no longer being sold and he hopes the base of future success is in place.
"We have a good track record in recent seasons of retaining our key players, developing young players and attracting new players," Gazidis is quoted as saying by the London Evening Standard following this week's Annual General Meeting.
"We are now beginning to compete in terms of wages with some of those clubs around us. There is continual growth in investment in wages but also in transfer fees," he added.
"Very importantly our player sales have reduced so we have retained more of our important players. We've had funds available to pay market values and as a result the reliance we have had on transfer revenue has gone down dramatically."
Arsenal struggled for a number of years after seeing the likes of Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry move on, before being forced to sell players such as Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie. Crucially, no more big name players have left since Van Persie in 2012 and the squad hasgenerally been heading in the right direction after being allowed time to develop.
"I can't get into a discussion on individual players but I can assure you we will apply the same focus, rigour and diligence to members of our current squad and I think you can see the direction of travel," Gazidis continued.
"Overall we have attracted some global talent - Sanchez and Ozil are renowned names. We increasingly believe we have constructed a squad that is capable of competing for the very highest honours in the game."
Arsenal dropped their first Premier League points since August on Saturday after a 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, although only goal difference is keeping them off the top of the table.
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