Pundit with history of Arsenal bashing sees bleak Arteta future

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Watford striker Troy Deeney feels “under pressure” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be sacked if they lose to Burnley at the weekend.

The Gunners have now slipped to 15th in the Premier League standings after Sunday’s north London derby defeat. They went down 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to goals from Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.

It is the club’s worst start to a campaign in nearly 40 years and the Emirates alarm bells are already ringing.

The season began in decent fashion, with Arsenal winning three of their first four top-flight games. However, they have lost five of their next seven encounters to sit just seven points above the drop zone.

Arteta is approaching one year in charge of the club. He has a 55 per cent win-rate but seems to struggle against the bigger teams.

Deeney, speaking as a pundit on talkSPORT, believes the Spaniard could be shown the door if the Clarets prove too good.

“I think he has to come under criticism, ultimately because of where they are,” said the 32-year-old, “For me, and I’ll go out on a limb here, if they lose [to Burnley] he is massively under pressure.

“I’d be surprised, if they lose and the ones around them win. They are looking more backwards than upwards. He would be under pressure to keep his job.”

Striker’s form key for Gunners

Arsenal’s main problem has been a lack of goals, with only 10 in the league from 11 outings. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a trusted source of goals but has bagged only two this season.

Alexandre Lacazette has three and Arteta needs the duo to step up if they are to start climbing the table.

Former Spurs striker Darren Bent is adamant that Arsenal will be fine and have what it takes to stay up.

“Arsenal have got good players and I like Arteta. I think they have the players to get them out,” he added on talkSPORT. “All it takes is Aubameyang to hit a bit of form. Lacazette needs to start scoring some goals too – a little bit of something. They are too good to go down.”

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang TEAMtalk

Before the visit of Sean Dyche’s strugglers, Arteta’s men are back in European action. They face Irish club Dundalk in round six of the Europa League on Thursday.

The manager is likely to field a virtual second-string side, with Arsenal already qualified for the knockout stage. Dundalk have yet to pick up a point and sit bottom of Group B.

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