Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger has made the "central spine of his team the summer priority" when he will have a £75M ($104.6M) budget to spend on new players, according to Jeremy Wilson of the London TELEGRAPH. Ahead of "what could conceivably be the final season" of Wenger’s 20-year reign at Arsenal, club scouts have already been told that central midfield and central defense "will be the priorities," as well as Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell and "potentially a striker." With an extra £40M ($56M) from the Premier League’s new TV deal also available, the club will also be in a position to make "massive contract offers" for Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez. Wenger has had "similarly healthy budgets in recent transfer windows but, to the disappointment of many fans, the only two senior additions in the past year have been Petr Cech and Mohamed Elneny." Although Wenger’s position is the "subject of renewed debate" following defeats over the past week against Barcelona and ManU, the "boardroom support for the manager remains total." The club has put thought into its planning for Wenger’s eventual departure -- CEO Ivan Gazidis believes that it will be Arsenal’s "biggest challenge" -- but there is "no timescale and every indication is that he will only leave at a time of his choosing" (TELEGRAPH, 2/29).
