Alan Shearer suggested relegation was a real possibility for Arsenal after the side slumped to their eighth defeat of the Premier League campaign away at Everton.
Mikel Arteta was already under immense pressure ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Goodison Park and Saturday’s result means the Gunners have now picked up just five points from the last 30 available to them in the English top flight.
Nicolas Pepe’s 35th-minute spot-kick cancelled out Rob Holding’s own-goal to provide hope for the visitors but Yerry Mina headed home right on the stroke of half-time to put the Toffees back in front on Merseyside.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men held on to secure a 2-1 win which moved them up to second in the table, while Arsenal remain in 15th place, hovering just four points above the relegation zone.
Arteta admitted he ‘understood’ his position could soon become untenable unless results drastically improved and Premier League icon Shearer said the Spaniard should be a ‘worried man’ having to rely on Arsenal’s current crop of players, with his job seemingly on the line.
‘Awful. No creativity, players going through the motions, not working hard enough, not closing down,’ the ex-Newcastle United and England striker said on Match of the Day.
‘Arteta should be a worried man relying on that group of players to try and save his job.’
Match of the Day host Gary Lineker insinuated Arsenal would find a way out of their current predicament and remain in the Premier League – but Shearer refused to rule out the possibility of relegation.
‘I wouldn’t be so sure, not with that starting team,’ he said in response to Lineker.
‘Not with the attitude of some of their players, no.’
Jermaine Jenas said Kieran Tierney’s recent performances were one of the only reasons to be positive from an Arsenal persepective.
‘I saw a couple of positives but they’re hard to find, don’t get me wrong,’ the former Tottenham and England midfielder said.
‘Down that left-hand side, I think Tierney plays really well and I think it’s unfair that he gets dragged down with what’s going on around him.
‘This relationship he’s got on the left with [Bukayo] Saka is something that Arteta can focus towards and build on.
‘They have a good relationship, Saka makes a lot of runs, but Tierney’s quality on the ball, picking out passes and he doesn’t just whip everything into the box, he picks out men.
‘What I like most about him is he just does his job. He’s a left-back and you’re asking him to just to his job.
‘And I think that’s the big problem with Arsenal, there’s not enough players just doing their job.
‘There’s a lot of people hiding, a lot of people passing the buck and there’s not enough players doing what Tierney has been doing for Arsenal over the last few weeks.’
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