Arsenal players ‘disappointing’ club legends as brand name ‘deteriorates’, says Jens Lehmann

North London side have this season made their worst Premier League start in 39 years

(Bongarts/Getty Images)

Jens Lehmann has said Arsenal’s current players are letting down the club’s legends as they battle through the Gunners’ “worst position in decades”.

Arsenal beat Dundalk 4-2 on Thursday night to top their Europa League group with a perfect record of six wins from six games, but the north London outfit’s start to the Premier League campaign has been their worst in 39 years.

And former Gunners goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has not held back in his assessment of the club and its players.

“The position right now is the worst in decades,” Lehmann told The Daily Mail. 

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“For a club like Arsenal, that is not acceptable.

“All of us old players would try to help and make the Arsenal brand strong and big. We are very disappointed, because the brand name is deteriorating, and you simply cannot let that happen.”

Lehmann was part of Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’, who won the Premier League in 2003/04 without losing a game. The former Germany international also won the FA Cup with Arsenal one season later.

Those heights under Arsene Wenger are far removed from the club’s current situation under Mikel Arteta, who also played under the Frenchman. 

But Lehmann refused to blame the Spaniard for Arsenal’s ongoing struggles, saying: “It is a bit of a mixture – the board has to make the right decisions, the manager has to make the right decisions by signing players and coaching them.

“The players are in a fantastic environment, they are in London at one of the most traditional clubs.

“It seems that some of them are still having problems to cope with the pressure, because everybody expects them to win something.

“But we are not even talking about winning anymore when you speak of Arsenal. There are a lot of problems.”

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