Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams has been heavily critical of how new Gunners boss Unai Emery has handled his sides pre-season preparations.
Arsenal’s new dawn under Emery’s reign got off to a pretty disappointing start last weekend when his side were easily brushed aside 2-0 at the Emirates by reigning Premier League Champions Manchester City.
Emery had clearly instructed his men to play out from the back, but the Gunners often looked unsure of themselves and were regularly picked off by City’s high press.
Adams reckons much of the uncertainty in the Arsenal backline was a result of too much rotation during pre-season, while the Gunners legend also warned fans of the North London club that they are nowhere near capable of challenging for the Premier League title.
Adams told talkSPORT: “I don’t know what he has been doing for the last five or six weeks. Well I know what he’s been doing, he has rotated all his players and given them all a game basically and they’ve got some good results but it’s pre-season.
“From minute one, I would’ve picked my own goalkeeper, my back four and put the two lads in that I want to screen those, and get a firm base that’s been missing for the last ten years.
“I don’t think we won a game away from home last year and that’s an underbelly of a lack of resistance, lack of resilience.
“You’ve had six weeks of pre-season – go on, get on with it!
“Arsenal fans up and down the land, we all want him to challenge for the league title but at the moment, realistically, we’re nowhere near.”