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Last summer, Arsenal director Lord Harris gave frustrated fans ammunition in their ideological war with Arsene Wenger and the club's management.

Despite the big-money signings of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in recent years, supporters have frequently called for more spending to propel the side to a proper Premier League title tilt.

Petr Cech came in from Chelsea before the start of the season, but Arsenal were the only club in Europe's top five leagues not to sign an outfield player.

That sparked criticism, which gained momentum when Harris admitted that the Gunners had over£200million in the bank.

Hindsight is 20:20, of course, but the months since have proven what many sceptics had believed all along: that Arsenal are short in a few key areas. So why, if Harris' assessment was accurate, didn't Wenger splash a bit more cash when he had the chance?

According to Ravi Lockyer, a senior city analyst at Collins Sarri Statham Investments Ltd, the figure so often quoted by Wenger's detractors is misleading.

CSS have penned a special report on Arsenal's finances, which you can download and read in full here.

"Ever since Highbury was sold, Arsenal have held significant cash balances," Lockyer writes. "But do Arsenal really have £200m for spending on players? No."

This, CSS claim, is because there are deductions that must be factored in.

Lockyer writes: "In its interims (six months to end November 2015), Arsenal had short-term expenses of £206m (including £45m for player transfer instalments) against gross cash of around £212m. The board cautioned about higher player expenses.

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"We need to be careful with the first half as Arsenal generates most of its cash in the second half of its financial year (ending May 2016) due to season ticket renewals in April/May and more match days."

Lockyer forecasts Arsenal will have around £228m in cash at the end of the financial year – a tiny fraction less than a year ago, but still a colossal amount.

But there are major constraints on that cash balance. Namely:

£32m Mortgage/bond collateral requirement £191.9m Short-term payables

Lockyer factors in an overdraft facility of £50m ("The board have not drawn on this yet, but we assume they will if they embark on heavy player spending") to estimate that the cash available for players is just £54.1m.

"This should be viewed as the amount that can "comfortably" be spent," he writes.

(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

That may come as bad news for fans hoping for a major spending spree this summer. Unless there are a number of exits, there appears only to be leeway for one marquee signing in the Ozil/Sanchez bracket.

But Lockyer says that supporters should think twice before laying the blame solely at Wenger's door.

"It is unfair to blame Mr Wenger for not constantly changing the squad, as he is operating under internal constraints. Player decisions are to be made in the context of an overall budget.

"Arsenal have relatively low cash one your deduct the amounts it needs to hold against its borrowings and short-term liabilities."

Read the full report here.