With Arsenal sitting 15th in the Premier League table, four points off the bottom three, it has led some pundits to comment that the Gunners could be in a relegation battle this season.

However, after being asked about his thoughts on Arsenal’s campaign so far, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said he doesn’t think the London club will be relegated but it does demonstrate the seriousness of the problems that Mikel Arteta and his side are facing currently:

“I don’t think they’ll get relegated but the fact were even discussing it, the fact we’re seeing where they are in the league is a real problem. I think we know what’s happened here at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson left, it’s a massive challenge when someone has been there for so long.”

“We knew when Arsene Wenger left there would be a transition period, a transformation in the club that would take some time. Obviously, Unai Emery didn’t work even though I stand by what I said at the time, he’s a great coach, it just didn’t work at Arsenal. I think there are elements of what happened here at Manchester United that are now happening at Arsenal.”

“I think Mikel Arteta has demonstrated that he can coach a team, that he can get a team organised but something’s not right. It’s difficult to put your finger on it, you end up saying is it the coach? Is it the management? Is it the recruitment? But the problem is when you get results like they are you end up blaming all of it because it’s probably all true. There’s an element of it all going wrong at the same time.”

The comparison to United by Neville is a pretty apt one. The power vacuum left by Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford has arguably still not been filled and the same could be said of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

It is not only the Frenchman’s influence on the pitch which is missing but also off it in terms of the club’s philosophy and recruitment. The likes of Arteta and technical director Edu have it all to prove that they can turn things around and rescue the situation.