Crisis? What crisis? Arsenal boss Wenger dismisses financial fears as he sets up two deals

Arsene Wenger has dismissed talk of an Arsenal crisis as he prepares to make two new signings in the next three weeks.

But a group of shareholders, worried by the departures of managing director Keith Edelman and key midfield player Mathieu Flamini, will this month write to the board demanding answers to a series of pointed questions about the club's future.

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Wenger wants to bring in a midfielder and a centre-half by the end of the month and Valencia's Carlos Marchena is among his targets.

He said: 'At the moment, the vibes coming out of the club are as though it might implode, but it's not like that at all. We're very stable and in a financially very good situation.

'I will be a busy man this summer. I know what I want and I'm very confident. We should sort out the deals in the next two or three weeks.'

Despite the loss of Flamini to AC Milan and the claim from Alexander Hleb's agent that the Belarus midfielder wants to leave the club too, Wenger has challenged his players to stay and fight for next season's title.

'I have the feeling that we are not far away and I hope it is shared by the players,' said Wenger.

'The real test we face is whether we are strong enough to say: "Ok, we missed out this year. We came very close and if we are winners we will come back and do it." That's what I expect from my team. I think the core of the team is ready to fight.'

Hleb, who is wanted by Inter Milan and Barcelona, appears determined to leave despite Wenger's bullish comments about fighting to hold on to him.

He must hand in his notice to Arsenal by Monday, May 26, if he wants to terminate his contract under the new Webster Ruling, which allows players to buy out the remainder of their deals.

He risks being banned from football if he fails to act within 15 days of the end of the season.

Hleb's commitment may be in doubt but Wenger has an ally in striker Robin van Persie, who believes his manager's policy of balancing the books in his transfer dealings and playing attractive football will eventually have its reward.

Van Persie said: 'I am 100 per cent convinced we will soon win big trophies. When that happens, I know the whole world will be behind us. It will be a lasting memory if we win it with our style of play.

'We started great, but at the last hurdle we did not make it. We were very unlucky. Against Liverpool in the Champions League, we were more or less in the semi-final six minutes from the end. We get one unfair penalty against us and we are out of the Champions League.

'Should we put all our philosophy and vision on the way Arsenal play overboard because of one lousy penalty? I don't think so.'

But the Arsenal board will this month receive a letter from a loose affiliation of small shareholders who believe the club need a change of direction after three seasons without a trophy if they are to compete effectively with their rivals in England and Europe.

The season-ticket holders, all of whom once owned significant stakes in Arsenal, believe only a serious problem could have triggered Edelman's surprise exit at the end of last month, barely a year after vice-chairman David Dein was forced out by his fellow directors.

Arsenal last night denied allegations from another source that Edelman's departure was directly linked to the loss of £15million-rated Flamini on a free transfer, pointing out that Ken Friar, not Edelman, took on Dein's role of overseeing transfers and contract negotiations.

But the concerned shareholders suspect that a problem in Arsenal's cash flow, perhaps relating to the property developments associated with the Emirates Stadium, is restricting the club's ability to compete with their rivals in transfer fees and wages, causing players like Flamini and Hleb to look elsewhere.

They will write to the board this month asking them to explain in full the reasons for Edelman's exit and to respond to specific queries about the club's finances.

Arsenal's stance is that Flamini's wage demands were too large to be accommodated within their wage structure and that their most recent financial results show they have a wage bill of the same magnitude as Manchester United and the resources to make big-money signings if Wenger so chooses.