Arsenal's struggle is down to 'disastrous' transfer policy says Gunners hero Frank McLintock

Arsenal legend Frank McLintock says the Gunners' struggle this season and their failure to win the title for over a decade is down to club's poor recruitment process.

The north London side registered a 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough in the league on 17 April. The victory ended a run of four points in five matches, and saw them climb to sixth place with 57 points from 31 games and trail fourth place Manchester City by seven points with a game in hand.

Arsenal are in a danger of finishing outside the top four this season. McLintock stressed his former club are in their current situation due to the Gunners' "disastrous" transfer policy in recent times. He also admitted the current crop of players at the Emirates is not good enough to win the title in the near future.

"Arsenal were talking about challenging the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and that why they moved to the new stadium. But if you look at the buys they are making, the best you can say is they are adequate," McLintock told talkSPORT.

"They are not players that are going to turn Arsenal around and have them right up there at the top of the league. I think the scouting system, this year especially, has been disastrous.

"If you look at Chambers, the two centre-halves, Gabriel and Mustafi, and Xhaka, they are quite good players but they are not Arsenal standard. I can't see them getting in the top four. It doesn't look good at the moment. That team is definitely not good enough to win a championship in the future."

Arsene Wenger saw his side struggle in the knockout stages of the Champions League after suffering a humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. Arsenal's only chance of winning the silverware is the FA Cup, where they face City in the semi-final clash on 23 April.

The Frenchman's contract with his current employers runs down after the end of the season. McLintock, who played between 1964 and 1973, and won the league and the FA Cup with Arsenal, has advised Wenger to step down from his post at Arsenal in the summer.

"It's very sad at the moment. It needs freshening up, and you've been able to see that over the past two or three years. I don't like to say it, I don't like to be one of his [Wenger's] critics. He's done a wonderful job, but I think it's to move on," he said.

"The future does not look very good. It's going to be a tough job next year, whether it's Arsene carrying on or someone else taking over."