Former Arsenal skipper, Frank McLintock, has criticised Arsenal’s ‘disastrous’ scouting system.

• McLintock played for Arsenal from 1964 – 1973
• Managed Leicester and Brentford
• Reckons recent signings aren’t ‘Arsenal standard’
• Must improve scouting to compete with European giants

McLintock believes that the likes of Granit Xhaka, Gabriel, Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi aren’t good enough for Arsenal and that if the Gunners want to compete with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as they claim, their scouting system needs massive improvement.

“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,” the former Scotland international 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.”

McLintock, who captained Arsenal to a cup Double in 1971 when the team looked very different, must get frustrated watching a bunch of players who are paid more than he could have dreamed, not giving everything for the shirt.

After nine years in north London, the defender moved to QPR, who were one of the best teams in the country at the time, so he’s seen exactly what it takes to consistently be involved at the top level of English football.

If he doesn’t think these players have got it, then he may have a point.