Wenger sticks to his guns after Freddie's flak

Swede Ljungberg was unveiled as a £3m West Ham player after a decade as a Gunner yesterday and the sixth man to leave the Emirates this summer said: "Arsenal claimed that despite building a new stadium, we were going to stay on top. For me that hasn't happened.

Scroll down to read more:

"Two years ago, when I signed my last contract, we talked a lot about whether we were going to be bringing in a lot of big players.

"It was a difficult decision but when Thierry Henry left, it felt like the end. It's all a bit sad. I wanted to stay loyal but I felt it was time to go. We have let a lot of players leave."

But Wenger said: "It's unbelievable how much money has been spent. There's a lot of money out there and I'm just looking to develop the players we have here.

"Just in central midfield we have Abou Diaby, Denilson, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto. On the wings we can play Aleksandr Hleb, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Emmanuel Aboue. So we have plenty.

"All these players are on the way up, getting better and better. They are not over the hill. Their level is still rising. And it is not necessarily the case that because a club spends £50m they are any better.

"Whenever I look at a potential new player, the question I always ask myself is: 'Is he good enough to win the League?' If he isn't, I don't buy him."

Wenger's ability to turn raw youngsters into big guns is unquestioned.

Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Vieira, Henry and Fabregas stand testament to that - but Ljungberg like most Arsenal fans will be studying the accounts and asking why Arsenal, who finished fourth again last year, have only spent £13.5m on Eduardo Da Silva, Bacary Sagna and Lukasz Fabianski this summer while champions Manchester United have splashed out £48m on Nani, Anderson, Owen Hargreaves and, possibly, Carlos Tevez.

Liverpool have spent £36m on Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and Lucas Leiva, Nikolay Mihaylov and Andriy Voronin. Even Chelsea, who made three free signings, have spent £14m on Florent Malouda, while neighbours Spurs have spent over £30m on Gareth Bale, Younes Kabul and Darren Bent.

But Wenger stoically insists: "The challenge is the same. The other sides can only play 11 players at the start of the game."