Arsenal will not break the bank to keep Patrick Vieira at Highbury and are resigned to the possibility of him leaving, according to chairman Peter Hill-Wood.

Although Arsenal are desperate to retain the player, Hill-Wood says to the Daily Express that the club's finances have become so stretched that they could not afford to get involved in any bidding war over Vieira.

The French international will be free to leave the club when his current contract expires at the end of next season.

"We have no plans to increase anyone's salary," the chairman says following a GBP 22.3 million loss last season.

The chairman said the total sum of wages and bonuses had left the club dangerously dependent on continuing to do well. "Our wages are very high and are manageable as long as we are successful," he told the Daily Express. "If we have a bad year on the field then we will have a problem."