Arsenal's proposed new stadium (Picture/Allsport)

The new 60,000-capacity venue was expected to cost £200million, but the complications in gaining planning permission for the building work have forced costs to soar by 50 per cent.

Gunners director Danny Fiszman said: 'It is more expensive than we originally anticipated. Part of it has been the obligations which will add £100million to the bill. (Without them) we would not receive planning consent.

'It concerns affordable housing, transport contributions, rebuilding the waste recycling centre, relocation issues. They are our obligations to the environment.'

However Fiszman - who is also the club's largest shareholder - insists boss Arsene Wenger's transfer kitty will not be affected. He added: 'I want to stress that Arsene's budget will not be affected in any way by this project.

'The new stadium will create sufficient extra income to pay the debt and put substantial ammunition in Arsene's pocket. Our intention has always been to stay competitive with our wages and in the transfer market. We will not have to change that.'

Arsenal defender Pascal Cygan, meanwhile, has spoken of his joy at joining the Gunners, but the 28-year-old admits claiming a place in the Arsenal first team has proved harder than he expected when he moved from Lille in the close season.

Cygan was only able to make an impact in the first team following an injury to Martin Keown. The French star stepped into the breach for the Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven on September 25 and has been a rock ever since.

'My daily life changed the day I signed my contract with Arsenal,' Cygan told L'Equipe. 'That day I landed on this other planet. But it is true that since September 25 things have changed even more.

'Before that date many people were wondering who is that player bought for only 3million euros. During the friendlies I'd played my performances were average, and everyone wanted to know whether I had the potential to play in such a team.

'I am quite a reserved person and I do not naturally open myself to the others. I had to make an effort to integrate with the group even if I did not speak the language very well.

'The coach (Arsene Wenger) reassured me and told me not to worry. He asked me to watch and learn. It was not easy.'

Despite the difficulties he had in acclimatising to life on the giddy heights of the Premiership summit, Cygan has never regretted his cross-Channel move.

He said: 'At the end of last campaign, I had three possibilities: extend my contract with Lille with insufficient financial rewards, join Rennes where I would eventually ended up working with Vahid Halilhodzic, or join Arsenal.

'I decided to leave and join another world, for one of the best teams in Europe. I knew that a good game would solve everything and sweep away all the doubts. That was the case against Eindhoven.

'At the end, everyone came to congratulate me and at that precise moment I realised I was really part of Arsenal.'

One bonus from joining Arsenal has been an improvement in his international prospects.