Jamie Redknapp claims Pep Guardiola could not fix Arsenal mess

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Jamie Redknapp has claimed in his Daily Mail column that Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola would not be able to sort the mess out that currently presents itself at Arsenal – and to Guardiola’s former assistant, Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal returned to action last Wednesday but were easily outclassed by Guardiola’s Manchester City, who cruised to a 3-0 win without ever getting out of second gear. A David Luiz disaster-class did not help the Gunners.

On Saturday, Arsenal suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brighton despite taking the lead through Nicolas Pepe. But Lewis Dunk and Neal Maupay saw the Seagulls earn three points, with goalkeeper Bernd Leno stretchered off.

Redknapp has sympathy for manager Arteta. The Sky Sports pundit claims that even if the Gunners had experienced ex-Bayern and Barcelona boss Guardiola in charge – they would struggle to stop the rot.

“Even Guardiola would struggle to solve the puzzle that is Arsenal. Their problems are deep-rooted and Saturday saw another spineless away performance that showed this team is nowhere near being able to compete,” Redknapp said.

“Who makes the decisions at that club? Who spends the money? What will happen to Mesut Ozil, Arsenal’s highest-paid player, who was warming the bench at Brighton? And enigmatic defender David Luiz?

“Will Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang commit to a new deal? There are so many problems at Arsenal and Arteta needs two things to solve this mess: time and money.”

TBR’s view – European qualification would be a surprise

The Gunners returned to action with optimistic fans hoping that the north London club could even squeeze into fifth place, which could prove to be a Champions League slot if Manchester City find they are banned.

But after the last two performances and no points from both matches, Arteta will do well to get the Gunners into any kind of European qualification. A top-half finish is the best Arsenal can hope for, judging on their two outings.