Noel Whelan says Arsenal has to spend around £250million in one transfer window to get back inside the top four.
The Gunners haven’t played in the Champions League since the 2017/2018 season and they are not in any European competition in this campaign.
They reached this new low at the end of last season and have spent around £130million to become more competitive.
They have still started this campaign poorly as they look to become a top European club again.
They haven’t made the best of starts and to show how bad they are in terms of quality of players, they spent their transfer budget on at least four players.
Meanwhile, Manchester City signed only Jack Grealish for £100million while Chelsea spent almost the same amount on Romelu Lukaku.
They can afford to do that because they already have a strong squad, but Arsenal doesn’t and has to strengthen several positions.
Whelan says to return to the top four will cost them that huge outlay in one go.
“There’s a lot of things they need to get right at Arsenal,” the pundit told Football Insider.
“They huffed and puffed and got over the line at the weekend. But most teams in the top six will blow Norwich away.
“I love the ambition, but they are four or five years off the Champions League.
“Yes, they are a work in progress and they spent a lot of money this summer but they are a long, long way off those other top teams.
“It doesn’t look like it’s two years off. Man City have strengthened, Man United have strengthened, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea.
“They are still way, way off winning it, if they ever do again. They are going to have to spend close to £250m in one season to get close to everybody else.
“They need to be in the Champions League to draw these players in, so it’s catch-22.”