Former Arsenal manager George Graham urges Arsene Wenger to spend on new players

Former Arsenal manager George Graham believes that the Gunners are still short of bridging the gap over title rivals Chelsea and Manchester City following the Gunners' convincing 3-0 win against Stoke City on Sunday.

The north London club have had a difficult start to the season and currently find themselves in fifth place, 13 points behind the Blues, who top the table, and one point shy of Manchester United in fourth place.

A top-four finish will be the minimum requirement for manager Arsene Wenger, but with the emergence of Southampton this season, it looks like there will be some big teams missing out on the Champions League football next season.

Graham feels that Arsenal need a new spine if they are to start competing with big teams on a regular basis, he believes that Wenger needs to sign a new defender, midfielder and a goalkeeper of the highest quality to challenge for the Premier League title.

"All Arsenal fans would like to see new players right down the middle. They need a new goalkeeper, a centre-half and a defensive midfielder," Graham told Alan Brazil on talkSPORT.

"With all the talent they've got in midfield, they're up there with the top teams in the league, playing attractive football when they're in possession."

The former Gunners boss wants a tough tackling midfieder in the team as he feels that the current midfielders do not press hard enough once they lose possession of the ball.

"When they don't have the ball, though, there are too many players who don't want to win it back early enough," the 70-year-old former manager explained.

The Arsenal manager admitted recently that he will look to sign a new defender, especially after losing defender Mathieu Debuchy to yet another long-term injury during the match against the Potters.