It’s something that’s been joked about for a long time, but it’s really starting to look like Arsenal’s transition towards becoming an average mid table side is almost complete.
They tend to let their best players run their contracts down so they leave for a small fee, the squad is average and ageing, while it’s not clear what resources Mikel Arteta has to improve things.
There are some promising signs with the younger players coming through, but there’s a lack of leadership and quality among the senior players and that can’t help their development.
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Their undoubted star just now is Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, but even legends from the club are urging him to leave.
Goal reported on some comments that Gunners legend Emmanuel Petit made to Paddy Power, and it’s particularly damning about the current state of things:
“If I was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, I would leave Arsenal. There is some quality in this team but when you arrive at the club nowadays you want to do great things. But, come on guys, Arsenal is not the same any more.”
“It’s becoming an average club. I feel so sorry for the fans and all the people who love the club. I feel sorry for the former players that try to uphold the Arsenal reputation.”
“But I don’t feel sorry for the players – I think 75% of them at the club at the moment don’t deserve to wear that shirt. They should look at themselves in the mirror and show some pride.”
The report also confirms that his contract expires next year and attempts to extend it have been unsuccessful, so yet again the club look like losing a key player for peanuts, so it will be incredibly difficult to replace them.