Nigel Winterburn, Arsenal

Nigel Winterburn believes the Gunners will struggle if they sell Robin van Persie

Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn believes that it will be very difficult for the Gunners to challenge Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea for the Premier League title.

The north Londoners look set to lose star man Robin van Persie, who announced that he has no intention to sign a new contract.

“Arsenal should not be a selling club,” Winterburn told talkSPORT. “Forget about the board.

“The most important thing is the manager and players and that the players go into each season believing they’ve got a chance of winning something.

“The precedent was set last year losing Fabregas and Nasri and now it looks like Van Persie may go, and that starts to put doubt into players’ minds.

“They’ve bought a couple of players in and you can only hope Arsenal continue to strengthen throughout the summer and somehow persuade Van Persie this is the right club and that they’ve started to move in a different direction from the past five or six years.

“It’s very difficult for Arsenal to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea. But as a player you need to believe you can challenge for the title and last year Arsenal were miles away.

“Getting into the Champions League is great, but as a player that’s not enough. That’s the minimum requirement. As a player you want to be in the mix [for the title] in March and April when the excitement really starts.”