Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla has told Sport 360 the Gunners lack a "winning mentality" to compete for the top honours in the game and has encouraged the club to sign some of the world’s top stars this summer.
• Mangan: Arsenal quiet after defeat
Spain international Cazorla, who signed for Arsenal from Malaga in 2012, has also hinted that he may return to his homeland should he fail to fulfil his ambitions at Emirates Stadium.
“Arsenal has everything to win,” said Cazorla, who revealed he has spoken to his Spanish teammate Iker Casillas about the possibility of moving from Real Madrid to Arsenal this summer.
“History, infrastructure, an incredible stadium and great players, but we have to improve at crucial moments and sign the best football players because if you don’t do that, you may lag behind others.
“That is what makes it different at other clubs. You’ve a good example in Manchester City who signed Fernandinho, [Alvaro] Negredo... or even Manchester United with [Robin] van Persie and [Juan] Mata.
“Arsenal know what they need next season, but it’s almost impossible to win a title if we haven’t got these kind of things.”
He continued: “We haven’t got a winning mentality and we have to believe in ourselves. Sometimes you can get used to not fighting, but we can’t do that. Arsenal is and will always be a historic football club and we have to look forward.
“We’ve been unlucky in several games. We had a lot of chances to win against Manchester United and there was [Mesut] Ozil’s penalty [against Bayern].
"We couldn’t recover after going out against Bayern in the Champions League and he defeat against Stoke finished us. You can’t lose against Stoke if you aspire to be the next champion.”
When asked about his future, the 29-year-old suggested he will look to leave Arsenal if he does not consider them to be challengers for major honours.
“I want titles and that is why I came to Arsenal,” he added. “Every football player wants to win titles. We’ve gone many years without winning one. And if not, what I’ll look for in my next destination is to have the chance to win.
“When I’m turning 31 I’ll evaluate myself and I’ll choose the best option. In which case, I would be delighted to come back [to Spain].”