Arsene Wenger admits he has only 'short-term" plan at Arsenal That is for two reasons: because I am here for a long time and, as well, I have to consider what I want to do. Wenger's tetchy response to the subject of his future at a press conference on Monday betrayed the stress he was feeling after Arsenal's latest embarrassing cup exit at the hands of lowly Blackburn Rovers. He then watched his players outclassed by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday to leave the club on the brink of an eighth successive season without silverware. Yet he was back to his congenial self at his latest appearance in front of the media on Friday, joking that he had "calmed down" and even challenging a reporter to a "one-on-one" football match. That bullishness extended to his assessment of just how far Arsenal had fallen in the last eight years. He insisted they were "not far away" from Bayern's level and questioned whether the runaway Bundesliga leaders deserved all the plaudits they had been given. "You send Chelsea and Man City to Germany and we will speak about Bayern again," the Arsenal manager said. They have no competition financially in Germany. One of the biggest frustrations among Wenger's critics has been his refusal to spend the money he is said to have at his disposal. He claimed that Arsenal had been prevented from competing with Chelsea and City in the transfer market by the debts incurred from their 2006 move to the Emirates Stadium but insisted that was about to change. Asked whether Arsenal would ever entertain paying £40 million for Radamel Falcao, he said: "We can do it. If we can afford it, we will not say no. Claiming it would be "a disaster" it the club abandoned their fiscal philosophy altogether, he said: "We have to be faithful to what this club is about, which is to give a chance to the young players we educate - that is vital - and therefore to bring in the players only who give us really a plus. If we find tomorrow a player of top, top, top quality, we will take him. Wenger did admit that he and ­Arsenal had been through a "hard time," adding "we cannot afford to drop points" in the race for fourth place in the Premier League ahead of the match with Aston Villa on Saturday. He confirmed Bacary Sagna would miss the game with a knee problem.