‘AWFUL’ Arsenal could be relegated this season, warned Alan Shearer.
And the former England captain took a brutal swipe at the players’ attitude and quality.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners fell to a 2-1 loss at Everton on Saturday, their eighth defeat in 14 Premier League game.
This was also their fifth away league game in a row where they failed to score from open play.
The result left them slumped in 15th, just four points above the drop zone.
This is their worst start to a league campaign since 1974-75.
And the Premier League’s record goalscorer did not rule out Arsenal being in the bottom three come the end of the season.
Asked if the club will stay up on Match of the Day, Shearer replied: “I wouldn’t be so sure. Not with that starting team and the attitude of some of those players.
“Awful, no creativity, players going through the motions, not working hard enough and not closing down.
“Mikel Arteta should be a worried man relying on that group of players trying to save his job. Twelve goals all season, they have no options.
“Against Everton, [Nicolas] Pepe was not prepared to get into the box, he was jogging, sometimes walking. He has got to do more.
“There are a few players in that team who are not giving everything for the manager. Arsenal are never going to score goals playing like that.”
Arsenal have been ever-presents in the top flight of English football since the First World War with a record 96 consecutive seasons.
But Arteta has a genuine battle to continue that impressive feat with his side losing confidence and any attacking threat on the pitch.
The Spaniard said: “We need to generate more to win football matches.
“When it comes to small details, the other team wants it more. The boys are absolutely still fighting.
“The way the boys reacted in the dressing room tells me they have the belief.
“When you lose lots of games for different reasons it hurts a lot. We have to be better.”
Ian Wright, meanwhile, is also worried about his former side – but refused to predict relegation for his beloved Gunners.
He told DAZN: “I think with the current players he’s got – I’m not saying Arsenal are going to go down, of course I’m not saying that – if you can’t arrest that slide, you will get dragged in.
“And then you’re going to be under real pressure to get yourselves out of it.
“Then people have to perform to a certain level to get yourselves out of it, because other teams can smell that blood and they will go for you, it’s a very ruthless league.”
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