Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick has vowed the club will continue to pursue a policy of self-financing after announcing a pre-tax profit of £25.1million for the six months ending 30 November 2017.

The latest figures do not include January’s transfer spend – during which the Gunners broke their record to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund – and are bolstered by a £58.4m income from player sales, among them the departures of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool and Kieran Gibbs to West Brom.

Cash reserves have risen to £137.6m, from £100.5m in the corresponding period for 2016, but turnover dropped by £23.4m to £167.7m as a result of the team dropping into the Europa League.

Arsenal are facing the possibility of a second season without Champions League football yet despite huge investment by their Premier League rivals, chiefly Manchester City and Manchester United, the club continue to resist the option of fresh investment from their second-biggest shareholder, Alisher Usmanov.

Under owner Stan Kroenke, Keswick reiterated their aim of only spending what they earn to achieve longer-term sustainability.

“This has not been the easiest of campaigns but we are all working hard to ensure we have a strong finish,” he said.

“Breaking our transfer record twice in one season and the player contracts we have signed shows our commitment to getting the club back competing for the Premier League.

“However, our strategy remains self-financing and we must accept all the challenges that brings at a time when the inflation of transfer fees, player wages and the fees demanded by agents has become super-heated.

“We need to spend effectively and be the best we can across the whole of our football operations if we are to compete at the level our ambitions for the club demand.”