Olivier Giroud fears a lack of serious investment could become a big issue for Mikel Arteta at the Emirates.
Arsenal spent the most money of any club in England across a busy summer transfer window, spending more than £145m on Ben White, Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, Lokonga and Nuno Tavares.
But, the London side find themselves down in 11th place in the Premier League, despite a resurgent four-match unbeaten streak before the international break.
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Arteta has maintained throughout his tenure that he wants to transform Arsenal into a genuine force once again and he remains hopeful of a top-four finish this campaign.
But former Arsenal player Giroud, a former team-mate of Arteta, feels the club will need to back the manager with huge investment for a sustained period before they can compete at the top of the table.
Asked how long it will be until the Gunners finish in the top four again, Giroud told talkSPORT: ‘Wow, that’s a good question! I think Mikel Arteta has got time to come back in the top four.
‘But sometimes the problem is that money plays a huge part in success also.
‘When you see Chelsea after winning the Champions League spend over £80million (£97.5m) on Romelu Lukaku to reinforce the forward line and after spending a lot of millions the year before, I think money plays a huge part.
‘That’s the thing with Arsenal. Maybe they don’t put as much in as their opponents.’
Giroud, now with AC Milan, concedes he found it ‘even more tough’ to leave Chelsea than Arsenal in the summer.
‘I spent three seasons-and-a-half there [at Chelsea],’ the Frenchman added. ‘I had an amazing time at Arsenal but [at Chelsea] I can say even more because I won the big titles.
‘It was emotionally difficult to leave when I left Montpellier and Arsenal, but even more tough [at Chelsea] because I didn’t play the last three months so it was evidence for me to leave and go for another challenge.
‘I felt frustrated a little bit to not play the last three months because I contributed well to the Champions League success by finishing top scorer for the team.
‘But what can I say? We were so successful and I am so pleased with the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League. I scored a few important goals.
‘It was tough to leave Chelsea and the Premier League but at the end of the day I think it was the best solution for me.’
