Real Madrid's €115m pursuit of Bale 'makes a joke of FFP', blasts Wenger

The Arsenal boss says it is "crazy" that clubs
are trying to spend vast sums of money this
summer, but also admitted that he feels under
pressure to splash the cash himself
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Real
Madrid's €115 million pursuit of Tottenham
winger Gareth Bale "makes a joke" of Uefa's
Financial Fair Play regulations.
The Frenchman has so far been frustrated in
his attempts to reinforce his squad this
summer, with Napoli outspending the Gunners
for Gonzalo Higuain, while Liverpool continue
to hold firm over Luis Suarez.
And when asked about Madrid's potential
world-record capture of the Welshman,
Wenger struggled to understand how clubs can
continue to splash the cash despite Uefa's
plans to curb spending.
"It makes a joke of it,' he told reporters. "It's
quite amazing in the year when Financial Fair
Play comes in, world football goes completely
crazy.
"You wonder what kind of impact and effect it
has on the football world. It looks like it has
made everybody worse than before."
Arsenal have around €80m in transfer funds
available to them this summer, and sections of
the club's support have grown restless that no
big-name arrivals have come through the door
of the Emirates Stadium so far.
"If you say we're under pressure to spend
money, yes we are," Wenger added.
"But I feel more under pressure to spend the
money in the right way and that's what I'll try
to do. We want to spend it if it strengthens
our team. Just spending the money is not a
quality.
"Spending the money, buying the right players,
that's a quality, of course.
"If you can give me names who are better than
the players we have currently, I am ready to
talk about it."