ARSENE WENGER has refused to confirm that Arsenal will spend the �25m they received for Emmanuel Adebayor on new players. The Gunners netted the huge transfer fee over the weekend after big-spending Manchester City swooped to sign the 25-year-old Togo int

ARSENE WENGER has refused to confirm that Arsenal will spend the �25m they received for Emmanuel Adebayor on new players.

The Gunners netted the huge transfer fee over the weekend after big-spending Manchester City swooped to sign the 25-year-old Togo international.

And while Wenger has been linked with a move for Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh as a replacement, Arsenal's manager indicated there were no guarantees a replacement would be brought in.

"I will be able to spend that money," confirmed Wenger. "If we are able to find the right players and if we feel it is needed. We are not in a hurry right now."

That was not the news Arsenal fans were hoping to hear after Adebayor followed the same summer exit pattern that has seen top players leave for the last four years.

But Wenger is adamant that the Gunners have enough firepower in their squad even if they do not strengthen ahead of the new season.

"We have internal players lined up," he continued. "Look at the offensive players that we have - Van Persie, Arshavin, Eduardo, Rosicky, Walcott, Bendtner.

"We just want to prepare for the season well now. We had 14 players missing for the Barnet game [on Saturday] so we will see where we need an addition.

"We are not in a hurry but if we need to add something anywhere then we will."

Bordeaux striker Chamakh is a possible target, although it is another Frenchman, Andre-Pierre Gignac, of Toulouse, who is emerging as a frontrunner to replace Adebayor.

Gignac, 23, was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season with 24 goals and has already been linked with a move to Lyon this summer.

At 6ft 2ins in height he is the kind of target man Wenger is searching for to replace the 6ft 3ins Adebayor, although the Gunners boss would only reveal this week that Chamakh, 25, is a name that is in the frame

"We keep an eye on him," admitted Wenger. "He is one of the players that we will follow and if we went for a striker then he would be one of the possibilities."

Wenger is still looking to strengthen in central midfield, and the injury suffered by Samir Nasri in training on Tuesday has further affected his plans.

Nasri, 22, suffered a broken leg in a training session in Austria and is unlikely to be available until October.

Even though Tomas Rosicky has returned to the squad, Wenger could ill-afford to lose Nasri after his impressive first season for the club saw him play 44 games in the last campaign.

The Gunners step their pre-season preparations up a gear in the next seven days with a game against Hungarian side Szombathelyi Haladas on Monday, and then a trip to Germany to face Hannover of the Bundesliga next Wednesday before returning to London for the Emirates Cup tournament on August 1&2.