Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright has claimed that the club's squad is not good enough for the Champions League and suggests that they would benefit from being knocked out of the competition.
The Gunners lost their opening two European group games to lower-ranked opponents in the form of Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos, and though they shocked German champions Bayern Munich at the Emirates Stadium, they were thrashed 5-1 in the return fixture last time out.
Arsene Wenger's side have been knocked out at the last 16 stage in each of the last five years, but they need to win both of their remaining group games to even have a chance of getting that far this season.
However, Wright admitted that Arsenal's hopes of sustaining a challenge for the Premier League title throughout the season could depend on not having the distraction of European football.
When asked if he thought his old side would qualify from the group stage, he told BT Sport: "I hope not. I want them to concentrate on the Premier League and I do not think that they will [qualify].
"If Zagreb get something [against Arsenal] then they will be kicking on again and then we have got to beat Olympiacos.
"I am not sure if Arsenal's squad is strong enough to deal with a European campaign with the fact that they are going for the Premier league – I do not think the squad is strong enough to deal with that."
Arsenal have the chance to go top of the Premier League table, even if only for a few hours, when they travel to The Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Tom Nightingale
