Former defender says squad needs a revamp.
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Ex-Arsenal defender and captain Tony Adams has said that the side need some significant rebuilding if they are to make a success of their season, talkSPORT reports.
The Gunners slumped to an opening day 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa, which was met with a growing sense of restlessness from the fans who vented their frustrations at the manager’s lack of transfer activity.
And Adams believes that the club’s transfer policy needs to change in order for them to stop getting left behind and start competing for trophies.
“I know Arsene [Wenger] would not spend £25million on buying Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer for example, no matter how much he might need a new keeper,” Adams said.
“I think that is a great policy, but the club needs to restructure its wages spend, and that is a vastly different matter.
“The club are paying in excess of £150million on players’ wages but there have been a lot of average players on £50,000 a week when the big teams now need four or five players on a lot of money.
“Arsenal do not attract those big players because of their wages structure.”
Adams also admitted that he would love to succeed the under fire Frenchman in the Emirates hot seat, but only if he was given certain assurances.
“One hundred per cent I’d like to be Arsenal manager,” he added. “Of course my heart says ‘yes, yes, yes’, but my head says ‘can I win with this current team?’ My answer is no, I can’t, and I am not sure anyone can.
“I would want assurances if I walk through the door, those assurances meaning I’m given the go ahead to build a new team.
“I would get my teeth into building a new team but to achieve that, you would need to spend.
“To keep hitting the top four and qualifying for the Champions League is great, and Arsene has done such a great job, but there is going to come a day, and that won’t be far away, when Arsene leaves.
“For a long time he has been a one-man band, but that won’t happen again. The next man appointed will be the head coach, not the manager.”