IT IS ALWAYS good fun to hear Arsene Wenger swear. His exclamation yesterday came as part of an impassioned defence of his Arsenal philosophy, one that he believes is primed to return silverware this season.

"If I go into a season and I say, 'For fuck's sake, if we don't win anything, they (the club's star players) will all leave,' I have already lost," the Arsenal manager said. "The problem of the media is always to imagine the worst and the problem of the manager is always to imagine the best. There is always a difference of thinking."

Arsenal last won a trophy in 2005 - the FA Cup - and it is not only the media who wonder whether Wenger's cash-conscious approach to squad building can create his latest championship-winning team.

Yet as the Frenchman prepared to enter his 13th season in charge, he challenged the perception that €25 million-plus signings equal success. His record buy is the midfielder Samir Nasri, who arrived for €15 million this summer and will make his debut against West Brom today.

"I have money available to buy players but we go into the competition with the target to balance our budget, which is what every manager should do," Wenger said. "We have gone three or four years ago into a different policy. We have opted for stability with young players and we can show we are more united and that we have the needed belief to be successful. A quality of a manager is also to develop players and to spot players when they are not necessarily stars.

"Would I buy a player for £30 million to win the title? Yes, I would. I am able to make signings at very high prices but you have to have cohesion in the way you buy.

"Manchester United is in the bracket of £20-30 million (players), Chelsea is in an unlimited bracket and we have to be in our bracket. Reasonable but shrewd."

Wenger intends to make a new signing in central midfield but he is adamant that, after falling narrowly short in both the Premier and Champions Leagues last season, only fine-tuning is required. "This team gave me fantastic excitement last year and I want to finish the job with them," he said.

Guardian Service