ARSENAL SQUAD IS STRONG ENOUGH WITHOUT NEW SIGNINGS, SAYS WENGER

Arsene Wenger has claimed that Arsenal do not need to make major signings to improve ahead of next season, the Daily Mirror has reported.

Thus far the Gunners have signed only Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre, a 20-year-old France youth international striker, having been frustrated in their attempts to prise Luis Suarez away from Liverpool.

And Wenger has claimed in an online question-and-answer session with Arsenal fans that the young players at the club will improve next season, allowing Arsenal to improve without spending any of the reported £70m he has available for transfers.

“We are still working on improving our squad, but we have a basis of young players who are getting a chance here, who started in the Premier League,” Wenger said, adding: “Wojciech Szczesny, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott. They are all players who started in the Premier League with us. No-one else has done that.

“I believe all of those players have a special bond and are on the way up - they are not over the hill. They will be better next season and that’s why I’m confident we will be stronger,” the manager continued.

Wenger also expressed his belief that his longevity gives him an advantage over the other teams likely to be at the top of the table come the end of the new season - all bar Tottenham Hotspur have appointed a new boss this summer, and Andre Villas-Boas is beginning only his second season at White Hart Lane.

“It gives me a slight advantage, because I know the squad at my disposal and it will take them some time to know every single player,” Wenger said.

“Certainly not Jose Mourinho [at Chelsea, though], because he knows already the players; but on the other hand most of those teams have lost their manager but have the stability within the squad - the players know each other.”