Chief
executive Ivan Gazidis said the Gunners CAN afford to pay Rooney more
than £200,000 a week and Manchester United a £25million fee.
Gazidis was adamant only boss Wenger will decide whether to bid for the England striker.
But
he claimed Arsenal are finally willing and able to make the stellar
signings required for a genuine title challenge, smashing their rigid
pay structure.
SunSport can reveal the Gunners’ revenues are set
to top £300m with the new Emirates, kit and TV rights deal kicking in
over the next two years. They will have £70m every year for new
signings.
Asked directly if they could afford the England hitman and his wages, Gazidis said: “I don’t know what his fee would be.
“I’m talking about an extra £70m of additional, high-margin revenue — so of course we could do that. “We could do more than that.”
It
is a massive boost to long-suffering fans desperate to see big-name
signings after eight years of losing their best players and winning
nothing.
Arsenal scraped into fourth spot last season, pipping Tottenham by a point.
Gazidis,
who also hinted Wenger is likely to be offered a new deal, said: “We
are beginning to see the escalation in our financial firepower.
“That’s going to happen partly next season, it’s partly available now. It means we can spend more on transfers and wages.