LONDON -- Arsene Wenger says Arsenal cannot use the money from a new television deal to lower ticket prices because the price for players will go up at the same time.
The Gunners charge the highest ticket prices in the Premier League and added to the long-simmering frustration among fans by announcing on Thursday that season-ticket holders will be subject to a surcharge if they attend the Champions League home game against Barcelona this month.
Wenger did not address that issue, but was asked at his news conference on Friday whether clubs have a responsibility to ease the burden on fans by using the extra revenue from the Premier League's new £5 billion television deal -- which kicks in next season -- to lower ticket prices.
But the Frenchman said that deal will also lead to a big inflation in transfer fees this summer, and that he is "sure that soon the £100m target will be easy to reach" for a player.
And while Arsenal spent just £10m on Petr Cech last summer and £7m on Mohamed Elneny in January, Wenger said that means clubs will need the extra cash for their transfer dealings.
"What will happen is that the prices of players will go up, so you will need this supplement of money coming in to buy new players," Wenger said.
"I believe that the pressure on spending the money will become bigger, and you cannot necessarily distribute the money to other people. What we do is we stabilise our [ticket] prices to give success to our supporters of course. And we have stabilised now for many years."
Wenger also sees China as an added reason to worry about inflation in transfer prices. Players like Jackson Martinez, Ramires and former Arsenal player Gervinho have all made big-money moves to the Chinese Super League in January, and Wenger said China's wealth could pose a long-term threat to the European leagues.
"China looks to have the financial power to move the whole league of Europe to China," Wenger, who managed in Japan with Nagoya Grampus, said. "Will they sustain their desire to do it?
"Let's remember a few years ago Japan started to do it, but then slowed down. I don't know how deep the desire is in China, but if it's a very strong political desire then we should worry."