Former Arsenal centre-back William Gallas insists his old club made a mistake by opting to install Mikel Arteta as their manager back in December 2019.
Following the sacking of Unai Emery, who recently guided Villarreal to the UEFA Europa League title, Arsenal quickly sounded Arteta out as their number one candidate to succeed the Spaniard.
Although he took over mid-season, Arteta enjoyed a relatively successful first few months in the job, guiding the club to the FA Cup and a place in the Europa League for this season.
This season, though, has proven to be a massively underwhelming campaign for a club of Arsenal's size, with no trophies having been won and European football having been missed out on for the first time in 25 years.
With massive changes needed, former Gunners defender Gallas, who spent four years in north London, believes Arteta was "not ready" to take on a club of the Gunners' size when he did.
"Mikel Arteta was not ready yet to manage a club like Arsenal," Gallas told The Sun. "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."
With Arsenal having been heavily criticised this season for their lack of competitive edge and desire to win matches, Arteta is determined to change the mindset and face of his squad this summer.
As reported by football.london last month, the club wants to bring in five new players this summer in a bid to transform their fortunes, with Arteta determined to turn the club into one of the Premier League's leading riders again.
Goalkeeper Mat Ryan is likely to return, whilst other positions that they are looking to strengthen include left-back and attacking-midfield.
