Arsene Wenger has claimed that European clubs are exploiting the wealth of English clubs in the transfer market, which in turn has led to Arsenal’s lack of activity.

With fans anxious for Arsenal to continue improving their squad in what little remains of the summer transfer window, Wenger’s latest comments won’t have gone down well.

According to him, Arsenal are finding it difficult to sign more players due other clubs charging “exploitative prices”.

“I am very pleased with our market because we bought good players who can integrate with our style of play, that’s what we want,” Wenger said, reports the Express. “On the other hand, it is very difficult.

“Today, the prices are out of proportion. The transfer market has become very demanding today. There is no transfer market anymore because the price depends only on the identity of the buyer.

“When you are English, you have straight away 50 per cent [extra] on the price of a player and that makes it difficult to act.”

Wenger is correct that the wealth of English teams has seen a dramatic increase in transfer fees. The new TV money means that just about every Premier League can spend £30m+ on a player, and teams from around the world know this.

Nonetheless, it does sound like an excuse from Wenger. This is the new reality of the transfer market and Arsenal have to adapt to it by either paying the new prices or searching for bargains. Inactivity isn’t an option at this stage.

Having paid out an ‘exploitative’ £52m for Alexandre Lacazette, it seems odd to be suddenly getting cold feet over paying big fees.

Between this and frequently saying that Arsenal need to sell off players, it seems Arsenal are set to go through another summer window without strengthening the squad to the extent that it needs to be.