Wenger happy to rely on Robin rather than splash the cash

The Gunners boss has made it clear he intends to add at least two new players this summer as he looks to ensure his young team can stay the course next season having fallen just short behind Chelsea and Barclays Premier League champions Manchester United.

However, it is unlikely Wenger will look to strengthen a frontline which already boasts 30-goal leading scorer Emmanuel Adebayor and has seen England youngster Theo Walcott make solid progress.

Add to those attacking options a fully fit Van Persie, a rehabilitated Eduardo da Silva - who broke his leg in February - as well as impact player Nicklas Bendtner or indeed Czech winger Tomas Rosicky, and it is easy to see why the Arsenal manager feels he has plenty of choice going forward.

There is no doubt the absence of Dutchman Van Persie due to a string of niggling injuries was a major loss.

The 24-year-old had started the campaign in fine form with seven goals in his first 11 games before being sidelined by knee and muscular problems, which would hamper him for the remainder of the season.

Wenger, though, believes the Holland international - who returned to form with a couple of goals during the run-in and is set to feature at Euro 2008 this summer - can be a major player if his injury jinx does not strike again next season.

"Robin is unfortunate with injuries at the moment, but in my opinion it is nothing more than that," the Arsenal manager said.

"It is true that he has missed many, many games this year.

"We lost him and Eduardo at the same period and it was really bad luck because Eduardo had come on well too.

"You always hope that next season Robin will have an injury-free season.

"He has so much talent so I am very keen to keep him, I trust him and I hope that he will get rid of his injuries.

"For me, Robin van Persie is world class."

Wenger may have lost the services of out-of-contract Mathieu Flamini, who joined AC Milan, but the Arsenal boss indicated he has plenty of cover already in central midfield and so will not seek out an intentional replacement.

Potential targets, though, could well include £12million-rated Lyon winger Hatem Ben Arfa, Valencia duo Carlos Marchena and Raul Albiol as well as Portsmouth winger Niko Kranjcar, while it has been reported a number of English clubs, including Arsenal, are chasing Sporting Lisbon attacking midfielder Joao Moutinho.

The future of winger Alexander Hleb, meanwhile, remains the subject of speculation, with reports the player was ready to buy-out his freedom via the 'Webster clause'.

However, despite his agent, Nikolai Shpilevski, last week claiming Hleb was "leaving Arsenal - there's no way back now", it appears their stance may now have softened - with Wenger continuing to stress the winger remained part of his plans and, more over, under contract.

Reports emanating from Belarus suggest Shpilevski has become less bullish about his client's possible move away from north London and is now stressing the need for any negotiations to be conducted in the proper manner.

If true, that will will be welcome news to Wenger, who previously voiced his anger at what he felt were the under-hand tactics being employed by Hleb's potential suitors, most notably Inter Milan.