Arsene Wenger has questioned the true value of Jose Mourinho's Chelsea squad, ahead of their Community Shield encounter on Sunday.
Mourinho has splashed out £21 million on Shaun Wright-Phillips and £8 million on Asier Del Horno this summer, whilst Arsenal have missed out on top target Julio Baptista at the same time as losing influential skipper Patrick Vieira.
However, Gunners chief Wenger is refusing to get carried away by Chelsea's dominance in the transfer market, believing that their spending power is exaggerating the actual worth of their incoming players.
"It is not Chelsea's fault or my fault, it is just like it is," explained Wenger.
"But everyone knows that they have plenty of money and, when they come in, they will buy for £20 million what [otherwise] costs £10 million.
"Do you really think Wright-Phillips would have cost £21 million had Chelsea not come in for him? Frankly, we have to be honest. What would be his price?
"There are two markets, one when Chelsea is in, which is quite lively and high, and one when Chelsea is not in, which is morose - all over Europe."
The intelligent Frenchman is relying on his well-groomed youth system to counter Roman Abramovich's millions, and Wenger is in no doubt that Arsenal can reclaim The Premiership trophy this season.
"I am not envious of Chelsea. There is a way to be successful and beat Chelsea despite the fact that they have more money than anybody else.
"There are enough good players in the world that you can always get good players. Real Madrid have spent more than Valencia, but they haven't won any trophies for two years."
Certain sections of the Highbury faithful are harbouring fears that The Gunners need to fill the void left by Vieira's departure to Juventus, but Wenger insists that he cannot currently improve on the players at his disposal.
"I just know about my situation. I have worked very hard on the youth policy and I must find a player who is better than Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva to replace Patrick.
"At the moment, I have not found one. I don't want to buy a player for the sake of buying a player."
The Arsenal chief is expected to add to his goalkeeping options in the near future, with Sebastian Viera set to join 'as long as the medical and financial reasons are sorted out'.
However, rumours of a move for England international Michael Owen have been quashed by Wenger, who explained that his lack of interest is borne out of a consideration for Owen's future.
"I have nothing against Michael Owen - I love him - but you cannot force me to buy him if I don't need him.
"We have Thierry Henry who scores 25 goals a season and can they live together? I don't know.
"I like Owen but I am looking for more for a deeper kind of striker as Dennis Bergkamp is getting older, while Thierry is not yet at the age to play deeper.
"It would be dishonest to take an international player like Michael Owen and put him into the same situation that he has at Real Madrid."
What a load of crap..
