Arsenal are not only bad at defending, but are now below par in attack as well, according to club legend Paul Merson.
The Gunners are enduring a poor run of results which has seen them go without a win in their last five matches and manager Unai Emery come under immense pressure.
Recent Premier League defeats to Sheffield United and Leicester City have left Arsenal eight points adrift of the top four and in something of a crisis of confidence.
The defence has come in for criticism for many months, but Merson now believes that Arsenal’s once potent attack has been dragged down to the level of the rest of the team.
‘I don’t see any change at Arsenal,’ Merson told Sky Sports. ‘They don’t keep clean sheets, they let in goals for fun and do you know the worst thing about it now?
‘They don’t even really look like scoring goals, which is the thing with me, with Arsenal, they always looked like they were going to score goals, even though they would be ropy at the back.
‘But I don’t see that happening now.’
There have been calls from fans and former players for Emery to be sacked, but Merson does not see that happening now that we are into the international break and that Arsenal have a favourable run of fixtures ahead of them.
The Gunners’ next four Premier League games are Southampton (h), Norwich (a), Brighton (h), West Ham (a), before hosting Manchester City.
Merson believes that this would have been the perfect time to replace the Spaniard and that he has been lucky to keep his job.
‘Looking at what’s to come with Arsenal, the fixtures, I think he’s there for the long run,’ continued the former England international.
‘I think this was a prime [time] to say ‘right, let’s get someone in, this hasn’t worked, bring a manager in, got five or six unbelievable football games to come up, get off to a great start, and then we go from there.
‘I think he’s very fortunate.’
Reports suggest that the Arsenal board have given Emery until New Year’s Day, when his side host Manchester United, to turn things around.
If the Gunners are not in with a realistic chance of the top four by that stage, he may well face the sack.
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