Arsenal ‘further behind’ than Wenger thinks, says Gary Lineker
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LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 09: Arsene Wenger the Arsenal manager prepares to bring on Thierry Henry as a substitute during the FA Cup Third Round match between Arsenal and Leeds United at the Emirates Stadium on January 9, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Arsenal are “a long way behind” their Premier League rivals and are likely to miss out on a Champions League place again next year, says Gary Lineker.
Despite manager Arsene Wenger being set to sign a new two-year deal, ex-England striker Lineker’s views were echoed by former Gunners goalkeeper Bob Wilson.
He believes Arsenal will struggle to attract quality players without the offer of elite European football.
“How are you going to get Antoine Greizmann to sign?” Wilson said.
“Without the Champions League, the only way is if you can compete salary-wise to attract the players,” he told BBC Sport.
“Chelsea bought the best player available last season in N’Golo Kante and Arsenal went for him too but came nowhere near the salary that Chelsea pay.
“So the board has to be realistic and say: Are we going to compete at this level?
“They cannot compete with Manchester United, or Chelsea with all the money [owner] Roman Abramovich has, or [owner] Sheikh Mansour has at Manchester City – these are clubs who can manage to go into huge debt.”
