City manager Mark Hughes admitted after Saturday's 3-1 defeat to
Chelsea that he expects many more players to arrive in January to
accompany £32.5 million Robinho, who arrivedf on deadline day after
the extraordinary £210 million Abu Dhabi United Group takeover at
Eastlands.
And Wenger is cautious that City's firm proposals to shake the
foundations of the Premier League's big four when the transfer
window reopens could have a large impact on the remainder of their
season with the potential promise of an unprecedented qualification
for Europe's elite competition.
"Manchester City have an advantage because they do pay a lot of
money," he said in a report this morning.
"This year other surprise teams could come into it like
Manchester City or Tottenham or Portsmouth. It is certainly very
interesting and very tight.
"Teams can get that little bit more balance by buying players in
the transfer window."
The Frenchman has come under scrutiny for not taking a City or
Chelsea-like approach to bringing in reinforcements with his policy
to not pay over the odds for players.
After the departures of midfield trio Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto
Silva and Alexander Hleb failed to bring in his preferred
replacement signings and striker Robin Van Persie revealed that
Wenger's principles prevented Arsenal from adding one new face in
the summer.
He said: "He [Wenger] has a principle and if he believes a
player is worth £10m then he'll only pay that amount.
"He wanted a player but the selling club were asking far too
much in his valuation. So he told them: 'That's the price or forget
it'."
Wenger had previously warned that the Champions League could not
simply be bought but he is certainly wary about the future threat
City's riches warrant.
