Arsene Wenger has praised Arsenal’s ability to maintain a fierce rivalry with the other top four teams, despite not always being able to compete financially.

Arsenal v Manchester United is one of the biggest and most historic rivalries in the Premier League. Long before Manchester City and Chelsea shot to the top through financial backing, it was the Gunners v the Red Devils.

Speaking ahead of the clash at Old Trafford this weekend, the boss has been talking about the rivalry and how it’s still there but different now.

“I believe the rivalry exists and there is a fierce rivalry between all the teams,” Wenger said. “But is it a bit more respectful today? Maybe. It’s not too bad. It’s only the people who are not inside it who find it absolutely fantastic.

He continued, “It has [changed] because at the start it was mainly for a long period Man United and us, between 1998 and 2004. Then Chelsea joined, after you had Manchester City joining in, so it has changed, yes.”

However, he couldn’t bring up the rivalry between the top four without mentioning the restricted finances Arsenal have had to face in recent years due to building our new stadium, while others haven’t.

“We have been consistent on both sides. We have gone through some periods where we were really restricted in our finances when Man United were not. Sometimes I felt that we were fighting with three boxers who have much more resources than us, over the years, and on that front it was Chelsea, Man City and Man United for years who had a much higher calibre financially.”

Although it seems we are now more able to compete financially with the money we’ve earned and saved over the years, it doesn’t seem the Arsenal manager will be following in the fellow top four’s footsteps and overspending any time soon.