Arsenal hero Paul Merson has claimed that his old side won't win Premier League titles if Stan Kroenke doesn't change his transfer policy.
The Gunners splashed over £140million during the summer window, more than any other club in England but failed to make any major first-team signings in January despite offloading the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Calum Chambers.
Technical director Edu had tried to bring Dusan Vlahovic to the Emirates Stadium in the winter window but as football.london previously reported the Serbian always preferred a move to a top Serie A club before eventually sealing a move to Juventus.
Now, the north Londoners are in desperate need of a clinical centre-forward, given both Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are into the final five months of their respective contracts with the club, and Merson has lamented Kroenke for planning to refurbish the Emirates instead of investing that money elsewhere.
“Arsenal will never be kings of England winning multiple titles again while Stan Kroenke is busy wasting money refurbishing the Emirates,” he wrote in his column for the Daily Star.
“I still think they’re only one top class striker away from being contenders – but they’ll never stick around at the top long while Kroenke has his eyes elsewhere.
“Go and sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Go and get James Ward-Prowse for the midfield. Don’t spend it on the stadium. What a waste. Seriously.”
The Gunners icon added: “If he wanted to do something big at Arsenal he’d have done it already. Refurbishing the stadium? It’s like having a nice house and doing it up so it doesn’t lose it’s value.”
“Spend your money on players. Calvert-Lewin would make them contenders again. But if you really want to go for it, why stop there?
“They need a really good midfield player. Someone who can spray the ball around. They have all that talent on the wings and nobody switching it to them.
“Martin Odegaard plays one-twos. He’s a tippy-tappy type. Nice and neat. He’s not going to hit 40-yard diagonal balls. That’s one thing they haven’t got.
“They have a good XI. Good young talent improving every day. They just need a little bit more quality and they will be really competitive.
“But I don’t think the people in charge understand how football works. I don’t think they have ever been comfortable having to pay a big fee for a player.”
