Alisher Usmanov unhappy with Arsenal summer sales

Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov believes that they will fail to win trophies if they keep on selling their best players every summer.

The Premier League club sold forward Robin van Persie and midfielder Alex Song to Manchester United and Barcelona respectively in the summer.

"Nobody can convince fans that the club is doing fine if for the past three or four years the club has been selling its best players," Usmanov told Reuters.

"It doesn't matter who our extremely talented coach, Arsene Wenger, buys to plug these holes if we want to win trophies. I'm an absolute fan of Arsene Wenger.

"I support him and I'm confident in him. We think he's a hero. Despite changes in the playing lineup, he keeps the variations of the same beautiful game."

Usmanov's Red and White Holdings holds just under 30% of Arsenal.