Arsene Wenger claims he offloaded players at Arsenal purely to keep the club afloat as he battled financial difficulties. The Frenchman oversaw the Gunners move from Highbury to their state of the art home the Emirates Stadium in 2006.
But it bought with it new financial pressures and the north London outfit had to sell a host of stars for the remainder of Wenger's tenure.
The likes of Thierry Henry, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie were all sold on. And Wenger has revealed that "many times" he allowed players to leave because Arsenal needed to financially.
He said on BeIN Sports: "You have to always manage the club with the financial potential that you have and respect the financial constraints you have.
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