Tony Adams believes Arsenal will not finish any higher than fourth next season and tips Manchester United to bounce back from disappointing campaign

Former Gunners captain feels that Manchester City and Chelsea are too strong for Arsenal even though they ended their nine-year trophy drought

Tony Adams salutes the crowd at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium (Getty Images)

Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams feels that his old club can do no better than fourth position next season, even though they ended their nine-year trophy drought with the FA Cup final success in May.

Adams was one of those who criticised the club for their lengthy period without success, but the 3-2 AET victory over Hull City at Wembley saw that unwanted run finally come to an end. The former England international praised some of their performances last season, but still thinks that the Gunners must aim for fourth at best given the quality of their main rivals.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Express, Adams said: “The club came under criticism for not winning a trophy and I was one of them! It was important for them to win that.

He also explained how he feels that his old club will face stiff competition from a rejuvenated Manchester United, who will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing seventh-place finish last season.

“Hopefully it will be a pivotal moment in the careers of the squad members and they can go on and win league titles.

“However I don't think they will win the title as Chelsea and Manchester City are blowing the league apart and Man Utd will come again.

“I don't think Arsenal will finish any higher than 4th at the moment which is a little bit sad, but they needed to win the FA Cup because they had stick from the fans.

“They played some remarkable football at times last season, but they they do leave themselves open.

“When they come up against big teams they tend to leave themselves too open because they want to play freely and roll teams over.”