Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke about his intentions in the transfer market and seemingly compared Rob Holding’s transfer fee to John Stones’ to prove spending doesn’t guarantee success. Or did he?

“ Let’s not forget the amount of money spent is not a guarantee of success. We have to be clear what we understand as a big signing. Is (Rob) Holding a big signing for you or not?” he said to beIN Sports.

“When you buy a player for £40m, everybody will have at the start a positive judgement. When you buy him for £2m, he can’t be good? That means a big signing is not necessarily linked with the amount of money spent.”

Manchester City paid £47m to sign John Stones from Everton last summer and the English centre-back has endured an indifferent debut campaign at the Etihad Stadium.

Rob Holding joined Arsenal for £2m from Bolton the same summer and is adjudged to have had a more successful maiden campaign than the former and is in talks with the Gunners over a new contract.

Holding starred in the FA Cup final victory over Chelsea, keeping the likes of Diego Costa quiet at Wembley. Stones had a trophyless season by comparison but did help seal Champions League football for the Sky Blues next season.

Wenger has spoken out about the contrasting transfer fees between the two players and unfair media treatment before, saying: “ Nobody speaks about the performance of Rob Holding, you should be happy. He’s English, he’s 20-years-old – but I’m sorry he didn’t cost £55m.”

The Arsenal manager may have been generalising in his earlier comments about Holding but he certainly believes he got the better deal than Manchester City did with Stones.