Ramsdale urges Gunners to ‘listen up' to Arteta after manager's brutal rebuke

ARSENAL would have taken this at the start of the season. Yet, Mikel Arteta finds himself in crisis-management mode again, desperately trying to avoid the disappointment of missing out on Champions League football.

- James Robson

The fact the Spaniard even put his team in the driving seat for fourth place up until a week ago was a remarkable achievement. But back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Brighton have left dark clouds hanging over the Emirates again and sparked fears that this is yet another false dawn.

It prompted Arteta to question the courage of his players and admit the team deserved to get “slapped” following the 2-1 defeat on Saturday.

To put it into context, Arsenal can still move level on points with Tottenham if they win their game in hand on their north London rivals.

Compared with what has passed for a crisis around these parts in recent years, it is hardly time to press the panic button.

Fifth place would have felt like an impossible dream after three straight Premier League defeats at the start of the season — and after 12 minutes at the Etihad in August, when they were 2-0 down to Manchester City in a game that felt like the score could be anything.