Arsenal: Andrei Arshavin blames Arsene Wenger for Gunners' failed title challenge

Former Arsenal forward Andrei Arshavin has blamed Arsene Wenger for Gunners' failure to challenge for the title in the 2015/16 season. The north London club started the season as one of the firm favourites along with Manchester City.

The north London club registered a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on 21 April, which saw them move to the third spot in the league table with 63 points from 34 matches. They trail leaders Leicester City by 10 points and second place Tottenham Hotspur by five points.

Chelsea, Manchester United and even City have struggled in the league this season, though the latter sits fourth in the table with 61 points. The Russian has labelled Arsenal as a "conservative club".

Arshavin has revealed the Emirates club depends on Wenger's viewpoint. The 34-year-old, who was at Arsenal from 2009 to 2013, believes the Frenchman's "conservatism" is causing a hindrance to his side's progress.

"It's a conservative club. Over the last few years, Arsenal have bought two world-class players in Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, while the goalkeeper Petr Cech has also joined. Apart from that, there have not been any major changes," Arshavin said, as quoted by Sky Sports.

"Arsenal have had the same head coach for a long time and he has his ideas. The whole team depends on the viewpoint of Arsene Wenger and his views towards football. I don't know if this conservatism is a hindrance.

"This season, Arsenal had every chance to become champions given the squad they have. All their main rivals, Chelsea, Manchester United and even Manchester City have not been looking bright.

"Everyone was saying that the Gunners would be battling it out for the title, but as you can see, there is no comparison to Leicester this season. It is very likely that they will be crowned champions."