Paul Merson: 'Arsenal as bad as I've ever seen'

Arsenal legend Paul Merson has criticised his former club following their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League last weekend.

Merson, who scored 78 goals in 327 games for the Gunners, has been unimpressed with Arsenal's form this season, which has left Mikel Arteta's side sitting 10th in the Premier League table after 30 games.

Arsenal registered their 12th Premier League defeat of the campaign last Saturday, and Merson was damning in his assessment of his former club, telling Sky Sports News: "What I watched against Liverpool the other day was as bad as I've ever seen. I can't remember Arsenal ever being like that!

"I know we go on about Arsenal and sometimes they play out too much from the back and they get robbed, and we've seen it against Liverpool umpteen times over the years. Liverpool nick the ball and they go and score, but the other day, I've never seen anything like it from an Arsenal.

"I just don't see a plan at Arsenal at the moment. All I see is an aim to get through the next season and we'll see how it goes along the way, and something might change, and we'll get lucky along the way."

Arsenal currently sit 10 points adrift of the top four and seven behind sixth-placed North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, leaving the Europa League as arguably their most realistic route into Europe again next season.

However, the Gunners' hopes of reaching the semi-finals took a blow on Thursday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Slavia Prague in the first leg of their quarter-final.