Ex Midfielder Reveals What the Problem at Arsenal Is

A former Arsenal star has stated what he thinks is the problem with the club, and according to him the woes being faced by the North-London club could be traced to its academy.

Emmanuel Petit feels that the club's over-reliance on academy products is the main reason why they are finding it hard to contend with the Mugu Money Spenders, sorry, I mean big money spenders.

‘Arsenal’s academy policy is very good, up until a certain point – there is a limit,’ Petit told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Metro.

‘There are a lot of players coming from the academy who are good but they have failed to improve over the last three or four years.

‘This has been a big disappointment for me. Players like Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere are constantly injured and they are not improving.

‘They are good, but not that good, that is why they need something else in the dressing room.’

He concluded by advising clubs who want to win titles to splash the cash on quality players who are capable to lead team to glory.

‘If you want to exceed this limit [of the academy], you have to bring in experienced players – big names, big characters, players with winning mentality,’ he added.

‘They need to bring leaders into this team. They have quality, no doubt, they have big players but not enough.

‘They need leaders, big characters and players that hate to be beaten and love to win – not only games but titles.

‘There are only two options for Arsenal. Either they keep on doing what they’re doing, adding experienced players to the youth coming through, or use the money they have.

‘They fall at the final step every time, at this crucial stage of the season. That means they need something to improve the closing stages of the season. That, for me, would be spending money.

‘Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are all spending money on top players to improve their team and results.’