Arsenal Wenger has stated that although Arsenal can not compete with the richest clubs in the Premier League off the pitch, they can still challenge them on it and will be title contenders next season.

The Gunners are expected to lose captain and talisman Robin van Persie this summer over a contract dispute, but the French trainer still believes that his side can beat some of their wealthy rivals on the pitch.

"Firstly, I must say that not being able to match the spending of the richest clubs does not mean that you can't compete with them on the pitch," he told Sky Sports.

"When I first came to England, this question did not exist. Every club was run within its resources.

"The Chelsea and the Man City are new problems. But with this new financial environment, what has not changed at all is our policy that we will be as ambitious as ever and spend the money that we have available, if possible in an intelligent and wise way.

"We have always spent money because we are ambitious for top-class players and if you look at the history of our last 15 years, we have always had top-class players.

"It does not mean you can't win the title if you can't compete financially," he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id='dfp-mpu' align='right']