Former Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has revealed his belief that the club hierarchy has failed to maximise the club’s potential in recent years.
The Gunners face a real battle to end their wait for Champions League qualification again this season when the current campaign is given the go-ahead to resume.
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“Bolton away finished Piqué’s career at United. He was young and got bullied there. I always remember Vidic would be in the gym for two or three days before Bolton, pumping himself up.” – Wayne Rooney. READ MORE…
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As things stand, they are eight points off the pace with 10 games remaining, although they do have a game in hand on many of their rivals and their form and performances have certainly improved since Mikel Arteta was appointed as boss.
Nevertheless, Podolski seemingly hasn’t been impressed with the way in which the club has managed its affairs in recent years which has contributed to its decline, as he has insisted that Arsenal have all the pieces needed to be successful and should at least be qualifying for the Champions League every year.
“The potential of what the club has, it has not been good enough,” Podolski told Sky Sports. “I think they know it themselves.
“They have the potential, the history, the facilities and I think they have the money as well.
“A club like Arsenal has to play every year for the Champions League. Of course, the Premier League is hard and even against the smaller teams. It’s not like other leagues with two or three teams fighting for the title.”
Much like all Arsenal fans, he’ll be hoping that Arteta can lead that change and get them back to where they want to be, but they have plenty of work ahead of them to make that happen this season.
Time will tell how the coronavirus pandemic impacts their plans for the summer transfer window as there is likely to be a financial fallout as a result, while Arteta will be desperate to stamp his mark on the squad and improve it where possible.
In turn, it could be a crucial turning point for the Gunners, and Podolski seemingly wants to see more from the hierarchy to use their strengths to attract the top players and get back to being a perennial top-four side at least.