Arsene Wenger has transformed Arsenal from feared contenders to comedy act, says Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan has labelled Arsenal a laughing stock after witnessing a massive decline in fortunes under Arsene Wenger in recent years.

Arsenal have not won the Premier League in 12 years, but claimed two titles in the time Forlan spent at Manchester United.

Wenger watched from the stands as Arsenal were beaten 3-1 by Chelsea on Saturday and Forlan believes the Gunners are no longer serious contenders.

‘Opinions are divided on [Arsene Wenger],’ Forlan wrote in The National.

Arsenal fixtures

Chelsea (A) – Sat 4 Feb Hull City (H) – Sat 11 Feb Bayern Munich – Champions League (A) – Wed 15 Feb Sutton – FA Cup (A) – weekend of 17/18 Feb Liverpool (A) – Sat 4 Mar Bayern Munich – Champions League (H) – Tue 7 MarLeicester (H) – Sat 11 Mar West Brom (A) – Sat 18 Mar

‘It’s quite sad because he’s a brilliant football manger, but something is not working there.

‘They can’t carry on without being serious title contenders until Wenger decides to quit.

‘When Arsenal are talked about as title contenders, people actually laugh because they can’t see it happening.’

Forlan played for United between 2002 and 2004 and watched Arsenal go unbeaten in the 2003/2004 season after winning the double in 2002.

And the former United striker cannot believe the difference between that Arsenal side under Wenger and the one he currently manages.

‘Even some of the other Manchester United players admitted that Arsenal had a better side,’ said Forlan.

Chelsea fixtures

Burnley (A) – Sun 12 Feb Swansea (H) – Sat 25 Feb West Ham (A) – Mon 6 MarWatford (H) – Mon 13 Mar Stoke (A) – Sat 18 Mar Crystal Palace (H) – Sat 1 Apr

‘Arsenal were one of the few teams against which United had to revert to more defensive tactics because we knew they had players who could seriously punish us.

‘Arsenal had Thierry Henry, who was probably the best striker in the world.

‘They had Patrick Vieira, who was almost as good as Roy Keane.

‘They had David Seaman, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pires, Arsene Wenger — and trophies.’

‘They won the double in 2002 and didn’t lose a single league game when they won the league in 2004.

‘They were a winning machine.’