Arsenal will not hesitate in sacking Mikel Arteta if the Gunners' form does not substantially improve in the coming weeks, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
What's been going wrong at Arsenal?
The north Londoners have begun the season woefully and went into the international break off the back of three consecutive Premier League defeats.
Arsenal head into the weekend sitting bottom of the Premier League standings and supporters have gone as far as to say tomorrow's clash with newly-promoted Norwich City is already a relegation six-pointer due to the underwhelming start.
In fact, the Gunners' 2-0 loss to Chelsea, which came before a harrowing 5-0 rout at the hands of reigning champions Manchester City, resulted in them making the worst start to a season in the club's 118-year history.
The poor run of form has come despite Arteta being given the opportunity to spend big in the transfer window, with Arsenal forking out £50million to sign England international defender Ben White from Brighton & Hove Albion.
Arteta also parted with close to £60million to draft Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale in from Real Madrid and Sheffield United respectively.
Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares made the move to the Emirates Stadium during the summer transfer window as well.
What has Dean Jones said about Arteta's future?
Former Arsenal midfielder Arteta, who made 150 appearances for the Gunners, was appointed as Unai Emery's successor in December 2019.
But Jones fears the Spaniard's days in the hotseat could be numbered.
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He told GMS: "It's a really big two or three months for the club. It's a huge moment for Arteta to try and get things back on track.
"I've been told pretty clearly that things have changed for him this season.
"He's been given a free hit up until now and offered time to settle but I think if Arsenal are in this situation for a couple more months, maybe not even that, then they will have to start questioning whether he is the right man for the job.
"They would actually change managers."
Are the players still behind Arteta?
One player who has shown discontent in recent weeks is Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who took to social media to post an extraordinary outburst as he pleaded to leave the Emirates Stadium due to not feeling wanted.
Maitland-Niles' public outcry, which came after a loan move to Everton was blocked by the club late in the transfer window, led to him initially being told to train away from the first-team.