Arsene Wenger hit back on Saturday at Brendan Rodgers after the Liverpool manager insisted Arsenal's bid for Luis Suarez fell well short of the player's valuation.
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Rodgers claimed Suarez's qualities meant he should be valued in similar terms to Gareth Bale, the Tottenham forward who has attracted a near £100 million approach from Real Madrid.
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Speaking after his side's 2-2 draw with Napoli on the first day of the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament, Arsenal manager Wenger confirmed the club had made a formal bid for Suarez - believed to be in the region of £40 million.
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But he also insisted negotiations would remain in- house and admitted he was perplexed by Rodgers's decision to speak out.
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"I do not understand this kind of thinking and would not like to talk openly about negotiations, because that is not my target in (this) press conference," he said.
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"We have one month in front of us and we will work very hard to strengthen our squad, without naming any specific names, because I do not believe that will make negotiations easier.
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"After that, you can make all kind of thinking about the price of the players, and you can say as well they are all overboard anyway.
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"I never said we have made a bid to Liverpool, now I can tell you we have made one, so at least that is some information. All the rest, I would like to keep to us.
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"If we progress in that situation, we will inform you. At the moment, that is where we are."
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Wenger and his club's board have once again come in for criticism in recent weeks after failing to secure any of their high-profile transfer targets, but the manager insists the club's approach to conducting business will not change.
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"When you want to buy any player, you need the agreement of the club, of the player and you need to agree a price, so you need three agreements," Wenger said.
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"It is like you go to your neighbour and say: 'I want to buy your house, so get out tomorrow morning.' He will not be necessarily happy about it.
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"What is important is we focus on the players we have, that we are not too much drawn into these stories.
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"I can understand they are interesting for people who love football, but it is not the most important (thing) in the game.
Arsene Wenger is surely a dope coach but I feel he should not stress over the Suarez issue. Suarez still has attitude problems I hope he knows that?