NO TRANSFER PANIC FOR WENGER

Sir Alex Ferguson may have claimed this week Arsene Wenger "doesn't have the money" but the Arsenal manager has insisted there is cash available for transfers - only his squad is strong enough without any more new signings.

The Gunners, linked with a move for their former skipper Patrick Vieira on a pay-as-you-play basis, have made only one signing, defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax, but have sold both Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.

Arsenal are £30million up on the deals but have debts to service on the Emirates Stadium, and it was this that prompted Ferguson to speculate it will be Wenger's side who feel the biggest threat from big-spending City.

Emmanuel Eboue could also leave Arsenal, with Fiorentina weighing up a £7million bid for the Ivory Coast midfielder.

Wenger, though, is in no rush to spend, and told the club's official website: "I feel we are strong enough but if we can add then we will do it.

"In England people think that all the problems can be sorted out by buying players.

"I believe the biggest target is to work hard in training, improve what we can improve and have confidence in the players that we have.

"If we need to add then we will. We have money available so for us it is now [important] to spend it in the right way when we do it or if we do it."

Ferguson said at the weekend: "The one who has the challenge this season is Arsene. He doesn't have the money, and how he uses the £25million from Adebayor will be very, very interesting."

Arsenal, meanwhile, have refused to comments on the reports about Vieira, who is keen to leave Inter Milan.

But former Gunners striker Ian Wright said on his TalkSport radio show: "I'm hearing Vieira, pay-as-you-play, back at Arsenal. That's what I'm hearing, and that's what I'm hoping."

HARGREAVES BLOW FOR UNITED

Owen Hargreaves has been forced to delay his return to training with the rest of his Manchester United team-mates.

The England midfielder made just three appearances early on last season before being forced to undergo surgery for tendinitis in both knees.

Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson had already admitted that he did not expect the former Bayern Munich star to return to action until September.

The Scot had hoped that Hargreaves would be able to link up with the Premier League champions to train with his team-mates as they prepare for the Audi Cup in Germany.

But that plan has now been scuppered and Ferguson was unable to put a time-scale on when the 28-year-old would be back in action.

The United manager admitted: "Hargreaves will not play in this tournament.

"We had hoped he would be joining us, but he is still in his programme of rehabilitation.

"He has had major operations on both knees and we are not rushing that.

"He is young enough to come back once he is fully fit, but we are not rushing him."

FERGUSON PLAYS DOWN REAL AIMS

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has backed his club to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo and questioned whether Real Madrid's squad has the right balance to challenge for Champions League glory.

United sold Ronaldo to Real for £80million earlier this summer, with the Spanish giants also spending huge sums to bring in Kaka from AC Milan and Karim Benzema from Lyon.

The spending was prompted by the re-election of Florentino Perez as Real president. He was criticised in his first term for building a side containing sublime talent in some areas but lacking quality and experience in others, particularly in defence.

Ferguson sees a similar pattern emerging again, a view shared by his Milan counterpart Leonardo.

"I understand all too well that losing 26 goals from a winger is hard to replace, but we will try because it is the nature of our club that the expectations never change whether you have Ronaldo or (Antonio) Valencia," Ferguson said.

"I would not like to be (Real coach Manuel) Pellegrini picking his teams."

Ferguson joked: "I told Ronaldo when he left us that they will probably be playing him at centre-half; I don't think they have one.

"It is difficult with all their individuals to pick the right balance and that is part of it."

Leonardo, whose Milan side are involved alongside United in the four-team Audi Cup in Munich, must also cope without Kaka but is also hoping Real's 'galacticos' policy will come unstuck.

Talking about the first term under Perez, he said: "They did not win so much in the end. It is not easy to construct a team with talented individuals.

"To create a team, you need something more and we hope Real Madrid don't have that. Sometimes you need more than talent to win."

A small fraction of the Ronaldo transfer fee was reinvested to sign Valencia from Wigan, and he is expected to feature against Boca Juniors tomorrow.

Ferguson has attempted to play down expectations surrounding the Ecuador star, who he believes will need time to settle in at Old Trafford.

"He has the potential and we hope he will develop and will become a star of tomorrow," he said.

"Valencia is a player we watched throughout last season.

"He is young, athletic, has good power and I think, at the age of 23, he can develop at our club."

United face Boca Juniors tomorrow evening before playing either Bayern Munich or AC Milan in Thursday's final or third-place play-off.

Ferguson added that he had done his homework on tomorrow's South American opponents via late-night television.

"If you can't sleep at three in the morning in England, then you can see Boca," he said. "And I don't sleep at three so I have seen them many times.

"They are one of the best teams in South America. We had a very competitive game with them at Old Trafford three years ago."

UNITED APPEALS TO MOURINHO

Jose Mourinho would jump at the chance of managing Manchester United should the Old Trafford hierarchy decide he is the man to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.

At 67, Ferguson knows he cannot continue indefinitely, even though he is presently fit and healthy and has no intention of giving up a job he has held for almost 23 years.

United chief executive David Gill knows finding a suitable alternative will be the single most difficult task he will face given the incredible success Ferguson has enjoyed with the Red Devils.

Mourinho's name has been mentioned fairly frequently since his exit from Chelsea.

The Portuguese coach certainly has the charisma required to take on one of football's biggest jobs and is unlikely to be overwhelmed by the task of replacing the most successful British manager of all time.

And, while he insists he remains totally focused on trying to end Inter Milan's 54-year European Cup drought, he admitted the lure of returning to England with the current Premier League champions would probably be irresistible.

"I would consider going to Manchester United but United have to consider if they want me to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson," he told the Daily Mirror. "If they do, then of course.

"I like England, where the fans are very passionate and make the game a beautiful occasion with such an incredible atmosphere."

Ironically, Mourinho's statement comes just after John Terry committed his future to the Stamford Bridge outfit.

Had Mourinho still been with Chelsea, it is unlikely Terry would have needed assurances from Roman Abramovich about the future direction of the London outfit before he finally said no to Manchester City.

And, aside from backroom unrest, it has not escaped Mourinho's notice that since his controversial exit two years ago, Chelsea are now onto their fourth manager and have failed to recapture the title, while he - having guided Chelsea to back-to-back championships - has now won Serie A as well with Inter.

"I had many conversations before Chelsea and I decided on a divorce," he said. "It was difficult for me because we loved each other but the relationship went in one direction and it was best for everyone.

"Since I left I became champion again but they have not been champions again. I keep on winning and they don't."

JUST GR-EIGHT FOR UNITED

Michael Owen scored twice and Ryan Giggs slotted home a second-half hat-trick as Manchester United ended their Asian adventure by beating Hangzhou Greentown 8-2.

It was maybe not the strenuous test Sir Alex Ferguson would have wanted but, in maintaining a 100 per cent record in four games so far, at least United are heading towards their quest to land an unprecedented fourth consecutive league title in confident mood.

Dimitar Berbatov, Zoran Tosic and Nani bagged the other three goals for the Premier League champions.

FERGUSON DISMISSES 'ARROGANT' CITY

Sir Alex Ferguson has branded Manchester City "arrogant" over a controversial poster campaign.

No sooner had City completed their capture of Carlos Tevez following the Argentina international's successful two-year stint at Old Trafford than a giant poster was erected at the bottom of Deansgate, one of Manchester's busiest shopping areas, declaring: "Carlos Tevez, welcome to Manchester."

The poster emphasises the fact City are based in the city of Manchester, whereas United are in the neighbouring borough of Trafford, something Blues fans have pointed out regularly down the years as they laid claim to the title of Manchester's only club.

If that was not bad enough, a spoof e-mail has also appeared, in which Michael Owen, complete with crutches, is pictured under the headline "Welcome to Stretford", as a wind-up at the injury-blighted forward joining United in a surprise move this summer.

With City also spending massive amounts of cash in an attempt to gatecrash the top four, the blue half of a divided city, so often downtrodden by United's contined success, can sense a shift in power.

Their United counterparts have already reacted in fierce debate and now Ferguson has waded into the argument.

"It is like one of those war adverts - Your Country Needs You," he said.

"Arrogance comes in lots of different ways. I think it is daft."

No-one has owned up to putting the Tevez poster up, although as a club City have expressed similar sentiments on official merchandise in the past.

'This is our City', 'Greater Manchester' and 'Pure Manchester' were all the brainchild of advertising agency Grey London and depict City's pride in their roots compared to United, who Blues fans would argue have lost their soul in the drive to increase profits.

Ferguson is not interested in the subtleties.

His view is quite straightforward - a jealous club, eager to make a cheap point having spent more years than they care to remember playing second fiddle to their hugely successful neighbour. A situation, according to Ferguson, that has been in existence since he first came south from Aberdeen in 1986.

"They were having a go at Manchester United," he said.

"They have had a problem ever since I came down here - Manchester United.

"You have to understand, when they get their moment to grasp for and to seize for, they are going to take it."