As if Arsenal's woes weren't compounded enough by confirmation with their 2-0 defeat at White Hart Lane that they can no longer mathematically catch rivals Tottenham Hotspur , former centre-back Martin Keown has stick the knife in with some harsh words for his old club.
In his latest column, the pundit claimed that the Gunners absolutely must sign one of Europe's top midfielders to fill the gap that has been left painfully exposed in the absence of Santi Cazorla.
Writing for the Daily Mail , he also passed judgement on which of this current crop of Arsenal players are good enough to make it into Mauricio Pochettino's side.
The silver lining for beleaguered Arsenal fans is that they don't have to worry about Spurs trying to poach too many of their players if they are able to effect a north London power shift in the next few years.
Because according to Keown, there are only Gunners good enough to make the grade up the Seven Sisters Road.
"Obviously Alexis Sanchez - with the right mindset - would get into the team," he said. "Laurent Koscielny is another I would play and, wih Danny Rose injured, Nacho Monreal would get in at left-back ahead of Ben Davis.
"But beyond that, there are not too many other contenders."
After their victory in the north London derby at the weekend, Spurs could cut the gap on Chelsea to just one point if they beat West Ham tomorrow night.
As for Arsenal, they languish in sixth, with top four looking less likely than it ever has before during the tenure of Arsene Wenger.
