Soccer: Mourinho's gripe over Manchester City spending fails to move Wenger

(Reuters) - Jose Mourinho's gripe about Manchester City's spending power met little sympathy in north London with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saying he had learned to deal with his club's inability to compete with the financial elite for more than two decades.

Manchester United manager Mourinho said this week he needed additional funds -- more than the 300 million pounds ($402.54 million) they club has spent since he took over -- to be able to challenge runaway Premier League leaders City.

"I have been in that position for 21 years so I will not start to complain now. There is always one team, sometimes four, who were richer than I was, so I learnt to cope with that and to deal with that," Wenger told the British media.

"What is most important is you deal with your own situation as well as you can and, yes, Manchester City are richer than us, Chelsea are richer than us and Manchester United are richer than us, but I believe we have to find a way to be successful."

Arsenal broke their transfer record in the close season when they signed French striker Alexandre Lacazette for a reported fee of 46.5 million pounds.

The French manager also brought in striker Alexis Sanchez for 35 million pounds in 2014 and midfielder Mesut Ozil for 42 million pounds in 2013.

Despite those big-name signings, Wenger has faced criticism from Arsenal fans for his transfer policy but he stressed the need for managers to get the most out of their resources.

"Your job is to take the best out of your team, the potential of your team, and nobody can really measure that. You have to be objective enough to analyse that, and to do as well as you can."

Arsenal, who last won the league in 2004, are sixth in the table on 34 points from 19 games and take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Thursday.

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(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)