Arsene Wenger and Samir Nasri defend Arsenal's curbed spending
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and midfielder Samir Nasri have defended their club's restrained activity in the recent transfer windows.
Wenger is often hailed as a fiscally responsible manager who avoids getting his club in debt, rendering Arsenal an exception in the otherwise cash-flooded Premier League.
As Arsenal built North London's Emirates Stadium, the Frenchman refrained from spending lavishly in the transfer windows in an effort to balance the books.
His restrained approach to transfer spending has been criticised, as Arsenal have gone without a trophy since the 2004-2005 season, but the manager has insisted that his approach can work.
"[My goals] are simple: win everything. Cups and the championship of England," Wenger told French daily Le Republican Lorrain. "Arsenal can each season reach a higher-level without losing €200 million per year. This is not true of all my colleagues in England
and the rest of Europe."
Nasri, speaking after France's victory over Luxembourg on Tuesday, also said that Wenger's team do not receive enough credit for their fiscal restraint and the footballing philosophy the Frenchman has brought to the club since taking charge in 1996.
"It is annoying. The work we do is not getting the credit it deserves because we are not winning silverware. It's unfair because we have more merit as a club than those who have built their teams with millions. Arsenal have brought in young footballers,
who have come here to play a certain kind of football and who have developed."
Nasri targets central role for Arsenal
The French international, who joined Arsenal in 2008 and has four goals in eight appearances this season, added that he would like to play more regularly in central midfield.
"That's where I play best, that's how I was formed. In every age group at youth level, I often played through the middle. I've been playing out wide for two years with Arsenal but feel more at ease in the centre of the pitch."
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