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The Gunners fell in another loss, this time to Everton, and their manager now needs a festive miracle to avoid losing his job.
Arsenal’s nightmare before Christmas is complete.
Their latest league loss to Everton, their seventh in 10 games, means that Mikel Arteta’s side has won just two points out of a possible 21 since defeating Manchester United on 1 November.
They sit 15th on the chart and could finish the weekend 16th and just two points above the drop zone. It’s the club’s worst start to the season since 1974-75.
This is not a problem, this is a full-blown crisis and if something doesn’t change quickly, the Gunners will spend the first half of 2021 in a relegation battle.
Arteta says she needs time, but she won’t get it if she can’t find a way to turn things around quickly.
This is now a streak of results that few coaches could survive, and there is little sign on the field right now that players are doing everything they can to take the pressure off their coach.
He was not helped at Goodison Park by the absence of captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang due to injury, but that is no excuse for his team’s form of performance when an under-par Everton was left with 2-1 winners.
At 2-1 at halftime, there was at least a slight improvement after the break, but the visitors never seemed to find a tie.
Once again, they struggled to create real opportunities. David Luiz came closer to making it 2-2 when his shot went off the post, but that opportunity only arose due to a mistake by Jordan Pickford.
Other than that, it was the story of the season for Arsenal. Everton gave them a lot of ball, but they couldn’t do anything with it.
This is a team that now looks like it’s just going through the motions. It all feels very similar to the weeks leading up to Unai Emery’s departure just over a year ago.
Willian, hired over the summer as a player who could make an immediate difference, was a disgrace during the first half and really should have been replaced at halftime, such was his obvious lack of effort.
He, like the rest of the team, showed at least a little more urgency in the second half, but the Brazilian international should be ashamed of what he served in Merseyside. Only Arteta will know how he saw the entire 90 minutes.
Nicolas Pepe may not have had the best of nights, but at least he looked like a threat at times and had leveled things out for Arsenal from the penalty spot in the first half, on either side of Rob’s own goal. Holding and Yerry Mina’s header.
However, it was Pepe who was replaced by the return of Gabriel Martinelli with 19 minutes remaining in place of Willian, whose three-year contract seems like a heavier weight around Arsenal’s neck by week.
Technical Director Edu and Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham have supported Arteta over the past fortnight, reaffirming their belief that he is the man who will oversee the Arsenal rebuilding project.
But his position is becoming more untenable every week, not only because of the results, but because of the performances.
Everton were largely poor on Saturday night and a decent team would have beaten them comfortably, but Arsenal struggled to even put a glove on them, such was the tame nature of their attack.
Arteta’s team have now won just one of their last 10 Premier League games, scoring just four goals along the way, two of which were from penalties.
Things are as bad now as during the last days of Emery’s tenure and Arteta could have few complaints if the ax fell in the next few days.
However, the blame should not fall directly on your feet. Arsenal have been a disaster for years.
Most of the players are not good enough and the ridiculous decisions of those in the corridors of power, particularly when it comes to recruiting, are now coming home to rest.
But the players and the hierarchy can hide behind the coach. He’s the one who has to put up with criticism and he’s the one who will eventually end up losing his job if things don’t improve quickly.
Arsenal host Manchester City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night and then host Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day.
If those two games follow the same path as almost everyone else since early November, then Arteta’s brief stint in charge could be over.
