Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has warned the club need to get rid of a host of their big names and sign six established players if they are to return to their former glories.
The French World Cup winner admits he fears for the future of the Gunners following Thursday night’s Champions League debacle.
Petit, who formed a formidable partnership with Patrick Vieira in his three years in north London from 1997 to 2000, claimed the likes of Andrey Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott were simply not good enough.
“I asked myself what has become of the team that I knew. It’s worse than I thought; they haven’t recovered from the departures of (Cesc) Fabregas (to Barcelona) and (Samir) Nasri (to Manchester City),” Petit told www.sofoot.com.
“It’s a gulf which is confirmed weekend after weekend.
“And what is perhaps the most worrying thing is the club won’t do anything this summer to reverse the trend.
“They don’t want to go back to overspending in the transfer market, and I think they’re right. But for two seasons, the level of the team has only gone down.”
The Gunners went down 4-0 at the San Siro in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in a performance branded “shocking” by manager Arsene Wenger.
Petit added: “The problem is that previously the club compensated for its lack of physical strength with Fabregas. With him, Arsenal were the most attractive team to watch in Europe behind Barcelona.
“There, in midfield, there isn’t anything now, the defence is constantly under construction. It’s fortunate that (Robin) van Persie is up front.
“Certain young players haven’t done enough to justify the confidence that Arsene has in them.
“Walcott – somehow he’s going to have to reach the next stage. It’s been years that he’s been at the same level.
“(Aaron) Ramsey, against Milan, I got the impression it was his (twin) brother on the pitch. In the way they behave, in their body language, we see they’re not there anymore.
“We shouldn’t hesitate to talk about the end of the cycle. Regardless of age, we have to look seriously at certain players. Right now.
“You have to send out a strong signal. You have to say to Arshavin, and to Rosicky: ‘Gentlemen, thank you, but goodbye’. And soon.”
Petit also cast doubt on whether Lille’s Eden Hazard would be a suitable signing, claiming the club need more experienced players.
“I like him a lot but what has he done at a high level?” Petit said.
“Has he been good in the Champions League? We haven’t seen him. Has he been good for Belgium? He’s sometimes even a substitute.
“What’s needed is five or six players of real stature, great experience. Players who are 27 – 30 years old at most.
“Players with technical qualities, obviously, but also strong character. A group of guys who refuse to accept defeat, who inspire confidence in the rest of the team.”
Meanwhile Andre Villas-Boas has claimed it is not impossible for Arsenal to turn around their Champions League tie against AC Milan, despite their San Siro humiliation.
Chelsea boss Villas-Boas said on Friday Arsene Wenger’s men were capable of coming back from Thursday night’s last-16 first leg defeat, even though no club had ever recovered from a 4-0 deficit in European competition.
Wenger conceded his side were all but knocked out but Villas-Boas, who noted Milan threw away a 4-1 lead in their 2004 quarter-final against Deportivo La Coruna, said: “Impossibles in football happen when you least expect them and I think the emotions that are played in the English game can have an impact on Arsenal and on the running of that game.
“If they score early in the game, they could go all the way.”
Villas-Boas recalled he almost endured such a turnaround during Porto’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Villarreal last season, having won the first leg 5-1.
“Within 15 minutes, we were already losing 1-0 and could have been losing two or three,” he said.
“In the end we got lucky, we lost 3-2. But that’s how quickly the game can change.”
Wenger tore into his players for their performance on Thursday night.
Villas-Boas, who branded Chelsea’s 2-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at Everton on Saturday their worst display of the season, said: “Regarding Arsenal, I’m nobody to make an assessment.
“I would just maybe perpetuate Arsene Wenger’s words because it’s maybe more or less what I feel about our last game, which is the acknowledgment that it was their worst game of the season.”
He added of Milan: “They’ve put on a massive, massive display.
“But I’m not sure if what happened to Arsenal yesterday reflects exactly what Arsenal is, and I’m sure that they will show that strength in a different way.”