What expert has said about Arsenal transfers will hurt every Gunners fan

ARSENAL cannot compete to sign any top signings, according to Bundesliga expert Raphael Honigstein.

Posted Monday, January 28, 2019 by Express.co.uk

Mislintat left Arsenal earlier this month

Honigstein was appearing on the Sky Sports' Transfer Talk podcast to discuss the departure of head of recruitment Sven Mislintat when he gave a no-nonsense verdict on their situation.

Arsenal announced this week that Mislintat was on his way - just 14 months after he was hired.

"At Arsenal, I think it's not so much a clash or a real problem of people working together but more an organisational issue that the role that he wanted to fulfill effectively has changed," Honigstein said.

"The responsibilities have changed and lessened in the new shape at Arsenal that has merged following the departure of Ivan Gazidis.

"I think there are different views over how his job should be done.

"You can see already in this transfer window, Arsenal will have to rely on someone who can find players who are not expensive, that are being misunderstood or are undervalued or are overlooked, and whatever you think of Mislintat at Arsenal, while he was at Dortmund they were the masters of doing just that."

Honigstein then delivered the key blow that will hurt every Gunners fan - because they are just no longer Premier League heavy hitters.

"Arsenal, even if they get someone very, very different in, they still need someone to do a similar job in terms of the players they target," he added.

"They cannot financially compete with some of the really top signings.

"They have to be cute and clever in the market and he was the type of guy, even if it hasn't worked out, that stood for that line of transfer policy."

Mislintat is said to have become frustrated at the Gunners' plans to appoint a sporting director, a position which may have had more authority than his own.

An Arsenal statement read: "Sven has been with us since December 1, 2017 and has done a truly outstanding job in helping us recruit players who are making a big impact now and will do so even more in the future.

"We wish him every success for the future and thank him for his extremely hard work on behalf of Arsenal."