Arteta took over at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019 but had a poor first full season at Arsenal with the Gunners only managing an eighth place Premier League finish, out of any European spots.

 

The Gunners kicked off the current top flight campaign with three losses on the trot, but now appear to have found some form, winning their latest two outings.

 

 

Ex-top flight star Crooks is of the view that Arsenal are underperforming at the moment with the quality they have in their squad.

 

Crooks insists that Arsenal’s struggles are mainly down to boss Arteta, who looks to be out of his depth managing them.

 

 

“The problem for the Gunners is they look miles from where they really should be right now and the biggest culprit seems to be the manager”, Crooke wrote in his BBC Sport column.

 

“Mikel Arteta appears out of his depth.

 

 

“He has talented players at his disposal and on occasions against Burnley [1-0 win] they showed it.

 

“However, it was a set-piece that dug him out of a hole.”

 

The Gunners will return to Premier League action on Sunday when they host Tottenham History in a derby clash, before which they will take on Wimbledon in a EFL Cup tie on Wednesday.