Arsene Wenger warned London rivals Tottenham they may have to sell prized asset Harry Kane to help pay for their new stadium as the outgoing Arsenal manager joked the Spurs striker could end up at the Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham will play Champions League football in their state-of-the-art stadium next season – the White Hart Lane redevelopment to hold 62,000 supporters.
It has been a costly investment for Spurs, one which could see Tottenham part with two-time reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner and England international Kane, according to Wenger.
"The impact of the transfers has increased a lot," Wenger said. "The prices for the stadium have doubled.
"The transfers of the players have tripled or quadrupled. A £10m player when we built the stadium was huge.
"Today a guy like Kane, I don't know for much they can sell him. £100m? So they might get more supply. But they have to face it. Will they have to sell players? Even to Arsenal maybe!"
Wenger – whose 22-year reign as Arsenal boss will come to an end on Sunday – knows all too well about stadium moves.
The Frenchman was at the helm when Arsenal swapped the historic Highbury for the £390million Emirates Stadium in 2006.
Arsenal's title challenges faded upon their move to the new and improved Emirates – the Gunners still waiting for their first Premier League title since 2004.
However, Wenger – who will farewell the Londoners following Sunday's trip to Huddersfield Town – has no regrets as he said: "I believe Highbury had a special spirit. It's a cathedral, a church. You could smell the soul of every guy that played there. So it was special. It will always be special for me.
"The Emirates for me was like buying a new house. It took us a while to feel at home there. It's a fantastic stadium – but there was something special at Highbury that you could never recreate when you build something new.
"But we had to do it. There is no club that can turn people who wanted to attend the game down. At the time I thought we were a bit too ambition with 60,000 but at the end of the day it worked."
