Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Thierry Henry feels the Gunners are no longer in a good position to lure the best talents from Europe and across the world.
The Gunners have endured one of their worst runs under Arsene Wenger’s 21-year reign, and they find themselves seven points off a potential Champions League qualification spot.
While the north London club have qualified for the elite competition in each of the last 20 seasons, Henry expressed his disappointment at watching the likes of N’Golo Kante and Zlatan Ibrahimovic join Chelsea and Manchester United respectively despite their lack of Champions League football.
Speaking to The Sun, Henry said: “It kills me to say this as an Arsenal fan, but my old club are not an attractive destination anymore for the top, top players,”
“Not being in the Champions League didn’t stop N’Golo Kante joining Chelsea from Leicester last summer. It didn’t stop Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining Manchester United.”
Meanwhile, the World Cup winner also insists his former club could compete financially, but there is far less a chance of luring a player of Neymar’s calibre to the Emirates in the future.
He added: “I don’t see anything to attract the big players. And, of course, players talk to each other. If Neymar called Sanchez tomorrow and said: Should I join Arsenal? what would he say?”
Arsene Wenger’s side face a must-win game against relegation strugglers Middlesbrough on Monday night, and anything less would push them further down to a position where they may have to qualify for next season’s Europa League instead.
Despite the unrest among the club’s faithful in recent weeks, Arsenal still have the chance of lifting silverware through the FA Cup where they host Manchester City in the semi-final stage next weekend.
