Arsenal refused to splash the cash in the January transfer window despite their latest financial results revealing an increase in turnover to £136million.
The Gunners, who led the Barclays Premier League at the time, were linked with a number of attacking players - notably Schalke's Julian Draxler - but the moves didn't materialise.
In the end, they signed Swedish international midfielder Kim Kallstrom on a free transfer from Spartak Moscow, only to discover that he would miss a number of weeks because of a back injury.
Although those results showed there was a group loss before tax of £2.2m mainly down to investment in the squad, they also revealed an extension of the Emirates Stadium's sound financial footing.
Since the window closed without Arsenal spending a penny, they have been overtaken by Chelsea in the title race and thrashed 5-1 by Liverpool.
They now face another tough couple of fixtures - a home match with Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday and a Champions League last 16, first leg date with Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
The revelation that such a big amount of money is available to manager Arsene Wenger will infuriate Arsenal fans desperate to see the club's nine-year trophy drought ended.
Arsenal did break with their frugal transfer policy in the summer when they brought in £47million Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid but the German's influence on the team has slowly faded after an impressive start.
The figures showed that the club's turnover increased from £106.1million in 2012 to £136million in November last year.
Match day income increased from £37.8million to £45million, with the return of the Emirates Cup to the pre-season schedule and the addition of a Champions League qualifier with Fenerbahce adding to the revenue.
The Premier League's new tie-up with BT Sport led to a boost in broadcast revenues from £40.1million to £52million, while commercial income rose from £27.7million to £38.4million.
The club's statement added that this should rise against next year following a five-year kit sponsorship deal with Puma.
Commenting on the results, club chairman Sir Chips Keswick, said: 'Whilst youth development continues to be an important focus, we fully recognise the importance of getting the balance right between youth and experience.
'As you well know, we signed Mesut Ozil for a club record transfer fee in the summer and, in addition, the signing of Mathieu Flamini has proved to be an astute acquisition.
'We will continue to work hard to keep the players Arsene believes can take us forwards.
'We will also continue to support the manager in the transfer market when he identifies players he believes can further strengthen the squad.'
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