Arsene Wenger has admitted Arsenal will not be buying any of the most expensive players in the world this summer as he looks for value for money in the transfer market.
The Emirates Stadium has not been mentioned as a possible destination for Juventus' Paul Pogba, who could cost £70 million and who is on the radar of the Manchester clubs.
And Arsenal are never linked with Gareth Bale, who commanded an £85 million fee when he joined Real Madrid two years ago, and who interests Manchester United and reportedly Chelsea.
While the financial shackles have been removed at Arsenal and while Wenger smashed the club transfer record to pay £42.4 million for Mesut Ozil in 2013, the Frenchman is adamant he will not be paying the sort of fees Real have spent on Bale and James Rodriguez or that Barcelona committed to Luis Suarez and Neymar.
"We have not spent that kind of money," the 65-year-old said. "People forget that for years we had to sell our best players and that was a very difficult period. That is the reality.
"Since we buy again, we slowly come back to a more competitive level. You speak maybe about stratospheric numbers where we will not be involved."
Wenger highlighted the performances of Santi Cazorla, a £16-million signing, and Francis Coquelin, who joined Arsenal at 17, in Saturday's 4-0 FA Cup win over Aston Villa, as proof of his methods.
"Santi Cazorla has been voted man of the match," he explained. "I think he has not cost £150 million. Coquelin was one of the best players on the pitch. You have to always look at the real quality of people. I am not against spending money. I have shown that recently. But I want a good rapport between price and quality."
Petr Cech's agent has said the Chelsea goalkeeper, who is set to leave Stamford Bridge, would be interested in a move to Arsenal.
Wenger did not deny he might buy a goalkeeper but praised David Ospina, who displaced Wojciech Szczesny during the season.
"If you look at the stats, Ospina is the best keeper in the league," he said. "You might not share that opinion but if you look purely at mathematics. But we will give you the answer after the transfer window."
Club captain Mikel Arteta has missed much of the campaign through injury and Coquelin has excelled in his stead.
But Wenger said the Spaniard, who is out of contract in the summer, has "nearly" signed another deal as he insisted the former Everton midfielder remains in his plans.
"He has a part to play and he went up to pick [up] the trophy," he said. "Of course he feels a bit less part of the celebration because he was not in the squad [on Saturday] but he will be next season."