Arsenal are lacking the backbone to mount a successful Champions League campaign, according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
However, Arsenal bounced back from conceding a goal inside the first minute to draw their Champions League opener with PSG thanks to an Alexis Sanchez second-half strike.
Arsene Wenger strengthened his squad in the summer with the big-money signings of Granit Xhaka from Borussia Moenchengladbach, Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna and Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia.
But, Ferdinand believes the club are still a long way from winning the Champions League as they don’t have the right characters or personalities to become a “top team”.
“Arsenal are further away than ever from winning the Champions League and it’s because they have never really replaced the great spine from a decade ago,” the former England international wrote in his column for the Evening Standard.
“There is no one in this side that can match players such as Sol Campbell, Patrick Vieira, and Thierry Henry.
“Those were guys that had big personalities and were men when they went into the changing room.
“When people are not pulling their weight they need to be told in no uncertain terms to sort themselves out — that ‘your performances and way you’re applying yourself will affect me winning trophies’.
“In top teams, players won’t accept that kind of attitude. I just don’t know if there is that nastiness in the Arsenal changing room.”
A 1-1 draw away to PSG – Arsenal’s main rivals for top spot in Group A – is a positive start to this season’s Champions League campaign. But the scoreline doesn’t tell the story of a frantic night for the Gunners.
The visitors were behind less than a minute into the match, had to survive a first-half onslaught from their hosts and then grabbed a dramatic late equaliser with 13 minutes remaining before both sides were reduced to 10 men.
There were just 42 seconds on the clock when Shkodran Mustafi lost Edinson Cavani in the box and looked on to see the Uruguayan head home the opener.
Arsenal’s unbeaten away record against French teams in European competitions seemed under threat as Unai Emery’s side poured forward, however, a change of personnel and tactics in the second half – coupled with some superb goalkeeping from David Ospina and wastefulness from Cavani – led to Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser.
Unlike his former great rival Alex Ferguson, who turned Manchester United into a European powerhouse, Wenger has not tasted Champions League success since he was appointed Arsenal’s manager 20 years ago.
Despite qualifying for the lucrative tournament for an English record 19 consecutive seasons, Arsenal has never won Europe’s biggest prize, losing to Barcelona in 2006 final.
The Gunners, who have won their last seven Champions League games in France, are looking to get beyond the last 16 for the first time since 2010.