Frank McLintock: Arsenal need to buy big for success

Arsenal need to make a significant shift in transfer policy if they are to end their three-year drought of honours.

That is the opinion of former captain Frank McLintock, who led the Gunners to their famous League and FA Cup Double in 1971 and whose allegiance to the club remains as strong as ever.

The brutal fact is that if there is no trophy come next May, it will be Arsenal's worst run for 21 years.

McLintock has one of the luxurious corporate boxes at the Emirates stadium - but is frustrated by the lack of silverware since the FA Cup was won in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United in 2005.

McLintock acknowledges that over the last decade there has been a change in the financial dynamic in the Premier League, with a top-four finish taking priority over both the domestic cups because of participation in the lucrative Champions League.

"I accept that playing in the European Cup takes precedence," said McLintock. "But I am of the old school where competitions like the FA Cup are concerned.

"The Cup Final was the one game which everyone all over the world watched. Even as a kid in Scotland, that was a game we watched.

"But it doesn't seem that Arsene Wenger values the competition that highly. You can see that from the teams he puts out.

"You could argue that it is the same with other big clubs, and the year that Manchester United did not even enter the FA Cup in 2000 was a significant milestone.

"But come the semi-finals and the Final they start to take it more seriously. Arsene, however, doesn't seem to go along with that and I was surprised to see the line-up against Tottenham in the Carling Cup semi-final last season.

"Against your closest rivals, I believe it should have been stronger. I am realistic enough to know that the European Cup, with all the money that is involved in it, has become more and more important.

"It is on a par with winning the league title in many ways.

"But I can't see Arsenal winning either until they change their approach to transfers.

"It seems that Arsene is reluctant to buy players in the 25-28-year-old bracket.

"Why? Maybe he feels that they are already star names and it would not be as easy to get them thinking and playing the way he wants them to perform. With younger players, it is easier to mould them to his way of thinking.

"What I will say is that the team is playing some of the best football I have ever seen. But they're not killing teams off.

"They seem to create so many chances but not convert them. Other teams seem to need fewer openings but always get that vital goal.

"I believe Arsene needs another two or three players and one of them should be experienced and proven.

"It might be time to speculate to accumulate if the big prizes are to come to Arsenal.

"There is also a danger that the supporters could get impatient and frustrated.

"They love Arsene and his philosophy of how football should be played as much as I do. But they want to see something at the end of it to prove their point.

"I know from personal experience how expensive it is to watch Arsenal and it is difficult for us supporters to come to terms with paying out so much and yet seeing so little spent in the transfer market."