Former Arsenal man Paul Merson has blown a gasket over Arsene Wenger not signing Karim Benzema during the summer transfer window.

The self-proclaimed Chelsea fan is positively irate at our lack of action in the transfer window and wants the world to know. However, it’s the fans he feels sorry for, apparently.

“If you’re an Arsenal season ticket holder, you’re paying top dollar,” Merson said.

“It’s their money. It’s the fans’ money. It’s not Arsene Wenger’s money. It’s not the club’s money. It’s the fans’ money that they’ve paid to buy players.

“The whole idea of going to this big stadium that holds 60,000 people was to bring in top quality players. I don’t know [why Arsenal aren’t spending the money].”

Astonishingly, Merson added, “Just put in a bid for Benzema. £75 million. If Real Madrid turn around and say: ‘We’re not selling him,’ you can’t argue with that. You’ve put in a bid and if they turn it down or the lad doesn’t want to come, that’s the way it goes. But show something.”

What business Merson has being so angry with the way our club is run, I have no idea, and I’m willing to bet he doesn’t have any sort of insider knowledge about the funds we have available to spend on players. Saying we should just spend £75m on Benzema is, quite frankly, hilarious.

From the outside, it’s easy for pundits and fans alike to sit back and bemoan Wenger for not signing Benzema, or any striker for that matter. However, we don’t know the inner workings of the club any better than the next person and getting so angry about a matter that’s out of our hands is a fruitless exercise.