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LONDON. — Arsene Wenger has insisted Arsenal won’t pay astronomical transfers fees this summer.

The Gunners boss ruled out bids for the likes of Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale or Paul Pogba of Juventus, who are rated in the £80m bracket.

“You speak maybe about stratospheric numbers where we will not be involved,” said the Frenchman, who asked if the duo were on his radar.

“It’s for financial reasons – it’s simple. We have not spent that kind of money.

“People forget that for years we had to sell our best players and that was a very difficult period. That is the reality.

“Since we buy again, we slowly come back to a more competitive level.”

Wenger landed the FA Cup for the sixth time as Arsenal overwhelmed Aston Villa 4-0 on Saturday.

The Londoners have raised the stakes the last two seasons paying a club record £42m for German ace Mesut Ozil two years ago and £35m for Chile striker Alexis Sanchez last summer.

But Wenger hinted he felt his squad was already not far off being able to mount a serious title challenge to champions Chelsea and runners-up Manchester City next season.

“I feel that we have moved forward and people think always it’s about buying,” he added.

“But it’s as well about cohesion and cohesion is a very important factor that is a bit underrated usually by people.

“We have to keep that cohesion and maybe add quality. But the quality we have to add is in short numbers.” — The Daily Star.