Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal no longer have to fear bids from Manchester City for their best players as the club is in a strong position to resist offers from the Etihad Stadium.
The Gunners are often referred to as one of the Premier League's elite but the French coach has been powerless to prevent several key members of his side joining City in recent years.
The financial muscle of Sheikh Mansour's takeover at City led Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure to head north for a combined fee of £41m in the summer of 2009.
A worrying trend for Arsenal continued when Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri followed suit in 2011 while Bacary Sagna swapped north London for Manuel Pellegrini's side as recently as 18 months ago.
But, ahead of City's visit to the Emirates Stadium tonight, Wenger is adamant that the risk of losing players players to his rivals has diminished
"That was difficult at the start to take but we had to survive financially and we had to live with it," he admitted.
"We are in a much stronger position today.
"I cannot say it will never happen again because you never know, but we are in a position where we do not have to give in."
The Premier League has recently agreed a new, substantial broadcast deal that has strengthened the hand of not only Arsenal but also the division's mid-tier teams in the transfer market.
Even the clubs lower down the transfer food chain are able to resist overtures from rival clubs and Wenger is adamant that it has helped to make England's top tier to become far more competitive.
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"The Premier League as a whole has so much financial power that the lower teams, who spend a bit less, can still buy the best players in Valencia, in Lyon, and that makes the league much more competitive."
High-flying Leicester appear to have proven Wenger's point already this season and Arsenal can cut the gap to the league leaders to two points if they beat City this evening.
