Paul Merson and Neil Warnock both think that Arsenal will struggle for consistency in the coming seasons as Mikel Arteta's side is still very young.
A 2-1 loss to Brighton on Saturday was enough to condemn Arsenal to further problems in the race for Champions League football as Tottenham Hotspur eased past Aston Villa in the midlands. Although they picked up a late consolation through Martin Odegaard, Mikel Arteta's side are now in a difficult predicament moving forward.
But, according to Merson at least, results like that and Monday night's defeat to Crystal Palace are bound to happen as this Arsenal team continues to develop: "It’s a young team, but when you have a young team this is what happens, the consistency levels change," he said, whilst speaking before the Brighton match on Gillette Soccer Saturday. "They were consistent over the last seven weeks, but they were also going to get 4/5/10 performance along the way which happened."
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Warnock believes the same. In fact, he thinks they've done well to put themselves within the top four conversation: "They are a young side so they will always be hot and cold and it is hard to find complete consistency. They have done far better than I ever thought they would and have put themselves within a great chance of finishing fourth. So will have days like they did against Crystal Palace."
Warnock went onto explain that Mikel Arteta's decision to move a few players on in January was justified because it led to there being a happier and more constructive dressing room: "I think at the time Mikel Arteta would thought it was good to get rid of a lot of players due to the size of the squad, when they didn’t have many injuries, but it has come to bite him.
"Now he would’ve wished that he kept two or three of them, even if he didn’t like them or he knew he was going to get rid of them, he could’ve done it at the end of the season instead and given the team a better chance, so he it is on his own back. But I imagine he is happier with the dressing room, being able to get rid of one or two players because the dressing room is key for a manager."
The Gunners have just eight games left to save their season. Whether they can pip Tottenham to a Champions League spot remains to be seen, but it'd be a huge confidence booster for their young side heading into next season if they could.
