Arsene Wenger defends Arsenal defeat at Manchester United - ‘They spent a lot of money’

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James Benge28 February 2016

The story of Manchester United’s victory over Arsenal was a battle through adversity by Louis van Gaal’s plucky band of misfits, underdogs and youngsters.

United seemed to swiftly settle into the narrative role that Arsene Wenger’s side had long taken in major encounters; a team riven by injuries, forced to make do and mend with youth prospects.

Only unlike the Arsenal teams of the recent past, United managed to defeat the moneyed elite. Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Guillermo Varela were the victors over the pricey Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck.

In the build-up to the match Van Gaal had only played up that storyline, bemoaning how a side missing 14 players hadn’t even been able to squeeze in a training session after their games against Shrewsbury Town and FC Midtjylland earlier in the week.

There could be few complaints for Wenger on the field as youngster Rashford was the shining light in United’s 3-2 victory.

But might the exceptional display of a youngster have deceptively suggested that this was a side utterly bereft of the high-profile stars of Arsenal?

It was a suggestion that Wenger did not take well in the aftermath of defeat.

“Let’s not go overboard,” he warned. “They had a few millions on the pitch today; from De Gea to their whole midfield who were experienced. They spent a lot of money on it.”

Wenger has a point. The starting lineup Van Gaal named, including Juan Mata (£37.1million), Ander Herrera (£28.85m) and Memphis Depay (£25m), cost nearly £40m more to put together than the Arsenal side, whose pricetag comes to around £145m compared to the £193m of United, meaning the hosts' starting XI was 20 per cent more expensive than their opponents.

On the bench it was a different story: United’s ragtag bunch of youngsters, along with Adnan Januzaj and Sergio Romero, cost next to nothing. But even when Arsenal’s substitutes are included, it is Van Gaal who has the more expensive squad.

Where Arsenal may have two extravagant signings in the form of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez -who came at a combined cost of £77.5m - there were no other players in their matchday squad who cost over £20m, with only Welbeck, Gabriel and Petr Cech commanding eight-figure transfer fees.

The £20m tag was breached for four of United’s squad, while Michael Carrick (£18.6m), David De Gea (£17.8m) and Marcos Rojo (£16m) constitute pricey investments.

The cost of Sunday's starting lineups

Manchester United: De Gea (£17.8m), Varela (£2m), Carrick (£18.6m), Blind (£13.8m), Rojo (£16m), Schneiderlin (£24m), Herrera (£28.85m), Lingard (free), Mata (£37.1m), Depay (£25m), Rashford (free)
Total : £183.15m

Arsenal: Cech (£10m), Bellerin (free), Gabriel (£11.3m), Koscielny (£8.45m), Monreal (£8.3m), Coquelin (free), Ramsey (£4.8m), Walcott (£9.1m), Ozil (£42.5m), Sanchez (£35m), Welbeck (£16m)
Total: £145.45m

Wenger may well be right to point out that this was no bargain basement United side, but will Arsenal supporters forgive the manager for his cautious spending if, as seems increasingly likely, his side lose out to Leicester or arch-rivals Tottenham in May?

Arsenal have a cash balance of £159.4m in reserve; perhaps if some of that had gone on creating financial parity on the pitch, there may have been similar balance on the scoreboard.

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