Adebayor demands an £80,000-a-week deal from Arsenal and threatens to quit if he doesn't get it

Arsene Wenger fears his young Arsenal team are in danger of breaking up after it emerged that Emmanuel Adebayor has demanded £80,000 a week to stay at the club.

The 24-year-old striker signed a new contract last summer worth a weekly £35,000, but he has told Wenger he wants to be paid in line with the top players in the Barclays Premier League.

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Talk to me: Emmanuel Adebayor is keen to join the big pay league

The manager fears a salary and transfer explosion this summer, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool expected to spend upwards of £50m each on top-class signings.

Despite claiming he can compete with United and Chelsea on the field over the next few years, Wenger has privately expressed fears that Arsenal will soon be too far behind the top teams in financial terms.

Mathieu Flamini became the first to walk out when he agreed a move to AC Milan earlier in the week, turning down Arsenal's £55,000-a-week offer, and it is feared others may follow.

Alexander Hleb is determined to move to Inter Milan in the summer and Jens Lehmann has played his last game.

Adebayor, after suffering an initial knockback, is expected to make more noises following Sunday's final game of the season at Sunderland.

His agent Stephane Courbis said: 'Now is not the time to talk about his contract. We'll wait until next week.'

Hleb's agent Nikolai Shpilevski said last night: 'Alexander is preparing to make one of the most important moves of his life. He is leaving Arsenal even though they want to offer him a new long-term contract and better conditions. There's no way back now.'

Wenger claimed his current team could eclipse the 2004 'Invincibles', but Arsenal are falling behind the top clubs in Europe in terms of transfer fees and salaries.

Despite claims from former chief executive Keith Edelman that the manager has a pot of gold at his disposal, it is thought Wenger's hands are tied in the transfer market, largely due to the crippling cost of their two-yearold Emirates Stadium.

All that could be solved if the club were to accept the help of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, but chairman Peter Hill-Wood and director Danny Fiszman say no.

Arsenal, along with Chelsea, have been offered the chance to sign Thierry Henry, but Wenger has turned down the opportunity.

Henry was deemed a 'special case' when he signed a contract worth £130,000 a week at the Emirates in the aftermath of the defeat in the 2006 Champions League final, but Arsenal are no longer in a position to pay that kind of figure.

Chelsea, who bid £50m for Henry when Roman Abramovich arrived in English football, also considered taking him back from Barcelona but have decided against it.

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