INVINCIBLES TO UNTHINKABLES

So you think Arsenal are too good to go down? That’s what they said about Man Utd in 1974... relegation danger is

SUDDENLY, there is a startling symmetry between Arsenal and Manchester United.

And it is not one normally associated with two of English football’s biggest names. The Gunners have made their worst start to a league campaign since 1974-75, which happens to be the season when United were in the old Division Two. Too good to go down? That is what they said about United before they were relegated in 1974 under Tommy Docherty just six years after winning the European Cup. While Arsenal are hardly champions of Europe, would it be unthinkable for this squad to go down?

For the club and supporters, the Premier League table makes for grim reading and will serve as a wake-up call for Mikel Arteta.

The fixture list andtheir results make it a genuinetheir concern for a side in freefall with just one win in theirtheir last 10 league games and who next face Chelsea at home on Boxing Day.

Should they lose and Burnley win their next two games, the Gunners will find themselves in a relegation scrap.

No one at the Emirates dare think the unthinkable, but there is serious danger of that becoming a reality – which begs the question of how it came to this.

There are several factors and the view from within the club is that most are not down to manager Arteta.

Present problems follow too many bad buys and a history of mistakes in the transfer market, resulting in an unbalanced squad which will probably take two to three windows to fix.

Willian has struggled badly since his move from Chelsea in what increasingly looks a piece of bad business. He is on big money and a three-year deal.

Pierre-Emerick A ubameyang has scored just twice from open p l ay sinc e signing his new contract. His slump is baffling. Yet he and Wi l lian seem to be undroppable.

Alexandre Lacazette is struggling, Nicolas Pepe has never lived up to his £72million price tag, and huge pressure is being put on young players.

Bukayo Saka has been revelation, Gabriel looks a a superb signing and, while the Arsenal hierarchy pushed the boat out for Thomas Partey, injuries have restricted him so far. The dressing-room dynamic is an issue. Mesut Ozil is a big character and the club’s top earner but he and Sokratis are not in the squad or available to play.

Any manager will say a big squad is hard to control. A big squad with disaffected players makes it almost impossible.

Arteta overachieved last year by winning the FA Cup, probably raising expectations, yet everyone at the club accepted his was

SICK DOCH The year Docherty’s United went down amid amazing emotion

a long-term task and would involve some pain along the way.

Why Arsenal chose to change his title from head coach to manager at the start of the season is unclear.

He is a rookie, is still learning, and being a good coach does not automatically make him a good man-manager.

Maybe that is through not having a stronger football voice on the board, urging caution, not speaking up on transfers and big football decisions. Arteta wanted that role and his early success meant the club gave it to him.

There is still confidence that when everyone is fit, the squad will move away from danger. Mind you, they probably said that about United.