Wenger: youth policy will pay

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed that the board had given him plenty of money to spend last summer; but chose to stick with a youth policy that seemingly failed at the final hurdle as the Gunners' fell behind in the race for the Premiership and were dumped out of the Champions League by Liverpool.

"We have gone for a policy and have to stick with it," he said. "It's very difficult to change the policy when you're in the middle of it and of course you destroy the work you've completed in the previous years.

"We are very close to our rivals and we have to keep this team together. We fight with Chelsea who lose over £100million per year and we make £50million per year.

"We still have to beat them and if we don't beat them then it's viewed as a disaster. I have to take a better perspective on it.

"We play against Manchester United today and how much money have they spent on players? But I still believe we can beat them.

"When you go for a youth policy you know about the price you must pay. Decisive moments in games we have shown a lack of maturity and that's what's gone wrong for us recently. It's only maturity, not quality."