Arsenal legend Charlie Nicholas says Gunners have no excuses if they fail to win the title this season
Former striker says Arsene Wenger has more strength in depth at his disposal than any other Premier League manager
CHARLIE NICHOLAS believes it's time for Arsenal to think big.
The Gunners came second to Leicester in last season's Premier League but the Sky Sports pundit says there are no excuses this time around.
He said: “I sense there are a lot of neutrals who would like to see Arsenal win the title again, but I’m still unconvinced – we’ve been here so many times before.
“If you break down the squads of all the top teams in Europe, Arsenal could be one of the strongest in terms of personnel and depth.
“Barcelona played some of their fringe players against Manchester City and Celtic in the Champions League, and I wasn’t blown away by the quality.
“City are strong, Chelsea are strong, Liverpool and Tottenham are getting stronger – but if you put their strongest teams on the park, do they have as much cover as Arsenal in every position?"
And he adds that signing Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to long-term deals would be a big step in the right direction.
Nicholas said: “The ingredients are there, but Arsenal are running out of excuses to turn them into a formula for winning the major trophies. There is no reason why they can’t do it.
“They are looking at tying down Ozil and Sanchez on long contracts, which is massively important, and that would be a big statement of intent."
Now that they have the squad, the Scot says it's time to deliver.
He said: “There is no reason why Arsenal can’t pay top dollar for their best players now because the Emirates Stadium is paid-for and they are not so constrained by finance.
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“It’s time for the players to deliver – if they don’t, they will come under pressure from the fans and so, I’m afraid, will the manager.
“I think they are still a bit soft at the back and I’m not sure if Arsene knows his best combination of holding midfielders.
“On the bright side, they have come through November – a month where they have struggled in the past – only three points off the top despite playing without real fluency. At least they are managing to draw games where they don’t play well."