Former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell has called on the Gunners to “just give me the job” as he highlighted the problems under manager Mikel Arteta.
Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Chelsea meant Arsenal opened a league season with two losses and no goals scored in two matches for the first time in their history.
It also marked the first occasion they have ended the day in the relegation zone after more than one game of a season had been played since back in August 1992.
Arteta has lost 20 of his 60 league games in charge, as many as Arsene Wenger endured in 116 Premier League matches at the helm, and pressure is beginning to mount on the former Manchester City assistant.
The Gunners face West Brom in an EFL Cup match on Wednesday before taking on champions City in the top flight on Saturday prior to the international break, and further poor results will leave Arteta in a worrying position given he has overseen a reported net spend of over £130million in this transfer window.
Campbell, twice a Premier League winner in his time with Arsenal – including the famous ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-04 – said the problems laid bare by the Chelsea defeat were alarmingly simple.
“It’s hard watching Arsenal at the moment, it’s really hard,” the former Macclesfield Town and Southend United boss told talkSPORT.
“It’s just the effort and the quality. Yes, we’ve spent a lot of money, the most in England at the moment, but it’s the quality, the consistency, the experience.
“We’re always looking for the potential, it’s always good to have potential, but sometimes you want that instant guaranteed success. This is a very, very young side, you have to remember that, there is a lack of experience – but it’s the basics!
“Some of the players need to do the basics. You can lose, but the way we conceded some goals was too easy. The reaction times of some of the defenders not backing each other up, not assessing danger.
“The first goal has slipped across the six-yard box – get back and defend. Don’t just wait! That’s simple, that’s A, B, C defending. Allow Chelsea to score really good goals, not those simple goals. It’s too easy.
“The gulf of talent and experience was on show. You couldn’t really miss it. Chelsea had so much time and space. They were a cut above.”
He added with a laugh: “I tell you what, I’d help them. Just give me the job and I’ll help them out!
“I’ll tell you how to get out of a two-man press against Brentford! I mean, what’s going on here?
“We go back to that game [a 2-0 defeat on August 15], it’s a two-man press, it’s quite easy to work out! You go flatter and that pressing midfielder has to run another 10 or 15 yards, which then gives you more space in the middle of the park. That’s really simple!”
