Bargain hunter: Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger won't splash his cash ... unless it's value for money

Careful: Arsene Wenger won't splash his cash unless he finds value for moneyAs Arsene Wenger probably knows, you can spend £350 on a top-end claret at Waitrose.It's a 2004 Chateau Ausone that the wine buffs at the Arsenal manager's favourite supermarket describe as a 'near perfect expression of right bank Bordeaux'.But Wenger is correct. They don't do near perfect right backs, near perfect right wingers or even near perfect right-footed strikers at Waitrose. Very few places do, which is why £50million is not that easy to spend in football's transfer market.Wenger would probably like to blow a few quid when the windowreopens in January. As Tuesday night's anxious encounter withOlympiakos demonstrated, they are missing Emmanuel Adebayor more thanthey would ever admit.But it's not easy when players of thenecessary quality are so hard to find and those who might be availablenow come with astronomical price tags.The kind of figures that,even for a club as well run as Arsenal, are too high. The market, asManchester United and Chelsea discovered in the summer, has gone madthanks to the ludicrous amounts of money spent by Real Madrid andManchester City. Other clubs saw Cristiano Ronaldo move for £80m and started to get greedy. Bayern Munich still want £65m for Franck Ribery, while Atletico Madrid have been demanding much the same for Sergio Aguero.Too rich, even, for Roman Abramovich, while Sir Alex Ferguson opted for Michael Owen.Ferguson was not prepared to meet Bayern's valuation and Wenger is cut from much the same cloth. He will not be held to ransom no matter how much flak he might take at the next shareholders' meeting.No one is better at finding a bargain. Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires and Nicolas Anelka proved brilliant pieces of business. As did Adebayor and Robin van Persie, who was signed from Feyenoord for just £2.75m.Wenger should also be credited with the capture of Andrey Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen. Revelation: Thomas Vermaelen in action for Arsenal against OlympiakosVermaelen has been a revelation and plenty of managers had a good look at Arshavin at Euro 2008 before backing away. It was Wenger who realised how well suited hewould be to Arsenal's style of play.It is a style that demands a certain type of player. As one scout observed on Wednesday, Arsenal won't buy any centre half. They will only buy centre halves with the pace and ability to defend one on one because they are so often exposed by the attacking nature of the team. Not least the full backs.Finding players isn't easy. When Roy Keane became Sunderland's manager he is said to have asked Mick Brown, the hugely experienced scout he recruited from Manchester United, to find him eight players.'Eight is impossible,' Brown, now at Tottenham, is said to have replied. 'Two is difficultenough and if you want a decent left back just forget it. There aren't any out there.'Much of Wenger's success is built on his eye for talent. He might not be in the market for the top-priced players but if there is a bargain to be had, you can bet he will be firstto the checkout. Emmanuel who? We don't miss Adebayor, claim Arsenal's goal-hungry starsKroenke edges towards Arsenal takeover after grabbing more sharesARSENAL FC

Source: Daily_Mail