Craig Burley believes Arsenal will continue to struggle in the transfer market for as long as the club is under the ownership of the Kroenke family.
The former Chelsea star was speaking after a number of Arsenal fan groups came together last week to write an open letter to owner Stan Kroenke over the way the club is being run.
One issue that fans have hit out at is the club's transfer strategy, with the Gunners, who missed out on Champions League football last season, making just one signing so far this summer in the shape of young Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli.
But Burley believes the letter will make no difference to way the club is being run, and that things will only change once the Kroenke family leave.
"They’re letter is akin to hitting somebody with a feather duster, let’s be quite frank about it," Burley told ESPN FC. "At the end of the day it’s a withering attack on the Kroenkes.
"Listen, as long as they’re in charge of Arsenal Football Club, that family, that ownership, then this is what we’re going to have.
"They’re not going to spend the money, their structure has been a bit of a mess, the signing policies have been a mess.
"That’s why Unai Emery’s scratching around.
"They’ve got some good young kids, I saw them against Bayern [Munich] the other night and they have got some good young kids.
"But there’s a big difference playing in pre-season than taking that over the course of a year. That isn’t going to happen.
"The other side of the coin is quite frankly they can’t afford to buy players.
"There’s reports they want the likes of [Wilfried] Zaha from Palace. Palace want £80million, Arsenal can only go to £40m.
"So we’re going to see them play second and third best in the transfer market.
"They’re not going to be able to cherry-pick the best players and therefore they’re always going to be struggling.
"Unless the ownership of that club changes, then the story will not change in my opinion."
