Arsene Wenger has claimed that top quality players can be recruited at a "reasonable price", despite the commonly-held view that clubs have to spend large amounts of money to make good signings.
The Arsenal boss has found himself on the receiving end of criticism in recent years for what some fans and pundits deem a lack of ambition in the transfer market.
Wenger told reporters at a press conference on Friday: "It's harder that ever to convince people you can buy good players at a reasonable price, and that the quality is necessarily linked with the amount of money in people's minds.
"The good players cost a lot of money most of the time, but you can still find players of top quality, sometimes at a reasonable price."
Arsenal have signed three players this summer - Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, Japanese forward Takuma Asano, and England Under-21 defender Rob Holding.