Arsenal chief Stan Kroenke has given manager Arsene Wenger a staggering £165million for a summer transfer spree, according to a Mirror report.
The American entrepreneur has instructed the Arsenal manager to spend big and make the club title contenders again.
Wenger is reported to be interested in Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez, Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, Barcelona’s Arda Turan and Monaco sensation Kylian Mbappe.
The war chest was made available to Wenger after he signed a two-year extension to his contract and he has already tried to spend big, reportedly having an £87m offer for Mbappe rejected.
Wenger has also hinted that he is interested in the £45m-rated Mahrez – he recently said to the BBC: “Have we made a bid for him? No. Not yet. Not yet means it could happen, it could not happen.”
Another player on the Arsenal radar is Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette, who scored a staggering 36 goals for Lyon last season.
He was set for a move to Atletico Madrid, but after their recent transfer ban was upheld until 2018, Arsenal could be set to reignite a move for him after having a £29m offer rejected by Lyon last summer.
Arda Turan is reported to be heading for the Barcelona exit this summer and is another player of interest.
Closer to home, the futures of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil are still up in the air, amid a report in The Mirror that they’re holding out for wages of £350k-a-week.
However, it looks like Wenger will buy big whether these players stay or not.
Wenger’s warchest may seem large, but it’s just over half of what Pep Guardiola has to play with at Manchester City, with a reported budget of £300million.