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Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has admitted that there is a possibility of relegation to the Championship after a dreadful start to the season that sees them in 15th place, five points above the drop zone.
Arsenal had a poor 2019-20 Premier League campaign, which saw them finish in eight place and sack former manager Unai Emery midway through the season. The Gunners, however, showed signs of progress under Mikel Arteta and won the FA Cup at the end of the season.
Mikel Arteta's side began the 2020-21 season on a high, as they beat Liverpool in the Community Shield. It has been doom and gloom since then, as Arsenal have lost seven of their opening thirteen Premier League games this season.
Their 1-1 midweek draw with Southampton means Arsenal are winless in their last six league games, a run that included defeats to Aston Villa, Wolves, Tottenham, and Burnley.
Ray Parlour believes Arsenal can get relegated but has asked the club to back manager Mikel Arteta
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour revealed that there was a very real prospect of Arsenal getting relegated this season in an interview with Off the Ball.
"Someone asked me the question the other day, can they get relegated? I said 'well, probably not' but then you look at Leicester winning the league at 5000:1. They won it. So they [Arsenal] can get relegated. If they don't start picking up points and turning it around then there's a real problem there," Parlour said.
Parlour backed Leno and insisted the hierarchy must keep faith in Arteta to turn it around. The former Gunner believes that Arteta is the right man for the job, and has been let down by his players.
"Mikel Arteta has been around Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger - he knows as a player the dressing room is so important," Parlour said.
"If there is a problem, he has to deal with it very quickly. If it does get out of control, the only person to lose their job, it's not the players, it's the manager straight away. Hopefully he can turn that around and make sure he sorts that out very quickly," Parlour added.
Goalkeeper Bernd Leno came out in support of his manager after the Southampton game and said Arteta is 'the least to blame' for the current demise, and said the players must take responsibility for the results.
Arsenal face a tricky trip to Goodison Park this weekend where they will face an Everton team that have won three of their last five games, and are currently in fifth place in the Premier League table, with 23 points.
