Former Arsenal captain William Gallas believes the club’s board made a ‘mistake’ by bringing in Mikel Arteta.
The Spaniard spent five years as a player at the Emirates before returning as manager in December 2019.
In his first full season in charge, Arsenal finished eighth in the Premier League on 61 points.
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Before his appointment, 39-year-old Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City.
Speaking about the manager, Gallas said: “Arteta was not ready yet to manage a club like Arsenal.
“OK, he was assistant coach at Manchester City. But he had never managed a team. It is completely different.
“The board made a mistake picking him. I’m sure he will be a great manager but you need to have experience to manage a big club.
“To be honest, it is a great shame for the Arsenal fans after finishing eighth.
“Arsenal is not the same Arsenal we knew 18, 20 years ago. We had players who were strong with strong personalities.”
The Gunners missed out on Europa League qualification this season by four points. David Moyes guided West Ham to an impressive sixth place finish, while Leicester City fell out of the Champions League places on the final day and ended up in fifth.
Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham, who spent the final few weeks without a manager, secured seventh and a place in the inaugural Europa Conference League.
Arteta will now look to improve his squad this summer as he targets the top six next term.
Arsenal lacked quality throughout the season and will need to bring in consistent players to improve their fortunes.
They’ve been heavily linked with Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma. He’s valued at around £40million by the Seagulls and has been tipped for a ‘top dollar’ move by pundit Jamie Carragher.
Bissouma might form a solid partnership with Thomas Partey in midfield, should the Gunners get a deal over the line.
Arsenal also look set to bid for Norwich playmaker Emi Buendia. Having failed in their attempts last season, Buendia produced another solid campaign in 2020/21.
He registered 32 goal contributions in 39 matches as Norwich secured an immediate return to the top flight.
Signing both Bissouma and Buendia would help Arteta to build on this season’s European failure.
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