Paul Merson reckons Arsenal could sack Mikel Arteta by the end of the year if the Gunners are not in the top two in the Premier League table at that point.
Arsenal almost certainly secured a third straight second-place finish in the Premier League this season thanks to a 1-0 win over Newcastle at the Emirates on Sunday.
It has been another good campaign, which included an impressive run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, but it will be another without silverware for Arsenal.
Arteta took over in 2019 and his only major trophy remains the FA Cup in 2020, despite clear progress being made under the Spaniard.
Merson reckons consistency will only get Arteta so far and unless he is in contention to win the Premier League title at Christmas time then the Arsenal hierarchy could decide to swing the axe.
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‘Problem is with this Arsenal team. I’m trying to back them up and say they’re a good team but you’ve got to win something,’ Merson said on Sky Sports. ‘It’s not easy. Every time it gets to the latter stages they go and that would be my worry.
‘I think Arteta’s got till Christmas till everybody starts…they will have to be in the top two at Christmas to keep on going.
‘I think next season. If you get to four [seasons] then no, you can’t [keep going].
‘Everybody wants to play for Arsenal, people will come to Arsenal, so it’s not like they’re struggling to get players and they’ve got the money.
‘For me, next year he’s got to be in the top two by Christmas or they’ll go for someone else, they will!’
Merson believes Arsenal are in a good enough position to be lifting trophies and must get their hands on silverware while they are in such a state, because it can all go wrong very quickly.
‘It’s timing. When it’s your time you’ve got to make it count,’ he said. ‘You see it go in circles. Look at Liverpool, they went 30 years without a title, a club like that! Then it comes round and they win trophies.
‘You’ve got to make it count. Man United were dominant, look at them now! I just think they have to make it count.’
Merson is sympathetic to Arteta, hailing the job he has done with the club and noting that he has been dealing with notable injuries this season.
However, he will have less sympathy for his former club if they do not sign a new striker this summer, as Merson feels that problem is clear and obvious.
‘If you look at the all-round picture, four/five years ago they were also-rans, the club’s gone, it’s going nowhere. He [Arteta] put the heart back in the club,’ he said. ‘The fans are here, they turn up every week again. They’re not far away, they need a centre forward.
‘A couple of injuries here and there and I know people go, ‘everyone has injuries’, no, they don’t. Not to key, key players. I always say it, if you took [Mohamed] Salah and [Virgil van] Dijk out of that Liverpool team, believe me that is not winning the league if they’re out for a long period of time.
‘And that’s what’s happened, [Bukayo] Saka’s a big player for them, [Kai] Havertz, people have a go at him, he’s a big player. When he hasn’t been playing he’s been missed.
‘They need a couple of players. I hope he doesn’t end up like [Arsene] Wenger did a couple of years into his reign when everyone knew they needed a centre-back. They need a centre forward.’