Wenger sets eyes on January spend following strong financial year for Arsenal

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Arsene Wenger will be given a large transfer budget for January after years of astutely managed finances have contributed to a surge in profits for Arsenal, the club's chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, has confirmed.

In recent summers the Gunners have been forced to sell some of their biggest stars, with Alex Song and Robin van Persie leaving the club in August, following the departures of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy a year earlier.

But their prudent transfer policy, combined with success in the Champions League in past years, has generated cash that will be available to Wenger once the window opens again on January 1.

Hill-Wood told reporters: "If Arsene wants to use that money during the winter window then, ­absolutely, he will be able to do it. "We rely on him to come up with the right people and there will be funds available to him.

"The financial results were good and we want to put that money to use if Arsene decides he wants more players but if the manager wants to ­reinforce the squad in January, he will be able to do that.

"I like to think that the profit shows we are ­running the club on the right lines.

"We are not able, for ­instance, to be able to ­afford to write off £180 million. That is not how we work."

The north London club have never spent more than £20m on a single player, although recent signing Santi Cazorla is thought to have come close to that mark.

Reports have suggested that Arsenal might look to Atletico Madrid star Radamel Falcao, with the 26-year-old alerting Premier League clubs by admitting that he would like to play in England one day.

Casillas: I would pick Cristiano Ronaldo over Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas - Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

Iker Casillas has made it clear that he would pick Real Madrid team-mate Ronaldo over Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi if he had to make a choice between the duo.

Jose Mourinho stated after this weekend's 2-2 Clasico draw that people shouldn't compare the two as they're both from another planet, but Casillas has insisted that he prefers the Portugal star over the Argentine forward.

"I'd choose Cristiano over Messi because he's a player who gives us so much every season and he's a player I spend time with every day," Casillas told Cadena Cope.

"I know him, know who he is, know how he trains, know what he wants and where he wants to get to."

The shot-stopper also had his say on the difficult relationship between Sergio Ramos and Jose Mourinho, but refused to side with either of the two parties.

"Whose side was I on? On Sergio's, supporting a team-mate who was going through a hard time. And the boss' because he's looking out for the team.

"It's not a question of siding with Sergio or the boss but supporting everyone equally."

Ramos was benched for the Champions League win over Manchester City, but has since returned to the Madrid starting XI again.

Real Madrid's Kaka: Of course the title race is not over

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Real Madrid star Kaka says he is happy with how his side performed against Barcelona after the first Liga clash between the two sides this term took place on Sunday, and says he does not believe the title race is over yet.

The two giants of world football played out a 2-2 thriller in front of 95,000 spectators at Camp Nou, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two goals each.

The result leaves Madrid eight points behind their fierce rivals, however, after Los Blancos had to recover from a poor start to the season.

"The eight point gap is still worrying, but slightly less so after playing at the Camp Nou," Kaka was quoted as saying by Marca.

"It can't be said that the title race is over, of course it can't. There's a lot left to play for and we're going to fight to the end."

Real Madrid went ahead through Ronaldo and the Brazilian admits he rues the fact they did not take advantage of the lead.

He added: "We had a great game, but we didn't kill it off."

Meanwhile, Kaka also spoke about former club Milan, with whom he spent six seasons after leaving boyhood team Sao Paulo in 2003.

The Rosseneri currently lie 12 points from the summit of Serie A, after losing 1-0 to fierce rivals Inter in Sunday's Derby della Madonnina.

But the Brazil international pointed to their 3-2 victory at Zenit Saint Petersburg as evidence that his former side are becoming difficult to predict.

He added: "Milan will be the loose cannon of the Champions League," said the Brazil international.

"The victory against Zenit St. Petersburg is clear with regard to the league, Allegri's team is late but must not give up.

"We [Real Madrid] are also eight points behind Barcelona in the table but we still believe.

"The world must have faith in the Rossoneri and give them time to build a new team."