Arsenal fans can no longer knock Arsene Wenger nor the club hierarchy for refusing to invest in the transfer market.

The north London club have parted with upwards of £200 million on new signings since the beginning of last summer – marginally less than the previous four seasons combined.

While their newfound ambition still pales in comparison to the Manchester clubs, Arsenal appear to have spent their money wisely for the most part.

A combined total of £100 million is a small price to pay for three very highly-rated players in Alexandre Lacazette, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But most impressively of all, the Gunners’ recruitment during the last 12 months has significantly mitigated the inevitable departure of Alexis Sanchez.

Mesut Ozil has signed on for another three years in February, putting Arsenal in a solid position to build a squad genuinely capable of contesting the Premier League title.

They have some way to go in that regard, though with another major acquisition already being teed up, Wenger knows they’re on the right track.

WENGER'S NO. 1 TARGET

The Daily Mail claims the Frenchman has identified Nabil Fekir as his primary summer target and wants the Lyon forward snapped up before the 2018 World Cup starts.

In a deal that would likely require extensive negotiations, Arsenal are thought to be willing to offer £45 million for a player whose employers are reluctant to sell.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas responded to talk of Fekir potentially leaving the club this season in November.

“Of course, he has a very good chance of being at Lyonnais. He’s a symbol,” he told SFR Sport, per Metro.

“In between times, there is the World Cup. If France makes the final and he scores the winning goal, of course he’ll get offers. But we will do everything to get Nabil to stay. And I think he wants to.”

WILL LYON SELL?

Considering how Fekir has performed throughout this campaign, it’s unlikely Aulas’ stance on the matter has changed.

The 24-year-old found the net during Lyon’s 3-1 Europa League victory over Villarreal on Thursday, taking his season total to 21 goals and six assists in 31 appearances.

But with numbers like that to his name, one has to wonder how much longer he’ll want to stay at a club that’s 17 points off the pace in Ligue 1.