Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he will never make a huge number of signings at any one time because it will affect their style of play.

Wenger insisted that to maintain the quality of Arsenal's game, he simply cannot afford to make too many changes or bring in too many players at once.

During the summer, only Thomas Vermaelen was brought in to bolster the Gunners' first-team squad.

He told French radio: "When you change more than three players from game to game you take a technical risk.

"The balance of a team doesn't depend on one player but if you change three it's a grave risk, not only in a game but also in signing players.

"You change three players and bring in three or four new faces who do not know your playing philosophy and it can hit your team like the flu.

"Sometimes when the players are extremely intelligent they adapt very quickly and it can also click very quickly. But it's rare."