Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he is ready to strengthen his squad

Arsene Wenger, Arsenal

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Arsene Wenger has admitted he will need to spend in the summer if his Arsenal team are to challenge for the Premier League title next season.

The Gunners are six points behind Manchester United and only a slip up by the league leaders will see Wenger’s men have any chance of pipping them to the title.

But the Frenchman revealed he is ready to bring in some new faces in the summer.

“We have a very young team and we want to strengthen the team,” he told reporters.

“Number wise, how much that will be I don’t know. It depends as well who goes out, we have a big squad.

“You have the same problem everywhere. If you don’t have enough players, people say ‘why don’t you have another striker on the bench?’

“It is a price to pay, I believe it is part of being a football player.

“Also, on the other hand you cannot reproach that the players have not performed as well as you wanted if you don’t give them a chance.

“It is difficult.”

The Gunners travel to Stoke on Sunday – a venue they have traditionally stuggled in – but a win will see them cement third spot in the league. For Wenger, this is a move in the right direction.

“The first step was to be in the top four and last Sunday was a decisive step for that,” he said.

“Now, we go step-by-step and the next step is to be in the top three.

“We are not there yet, we have the advantage over Manchester City, but only if we win our games and we will do absolutely everything to be in there.

“We have to focus on our performance. We had a good performance against Manchester United and let’s produce another one without us expecting Stoke to weaken.”