Mikel Arteta is usually a great judge of character and talent, and he can get the best out of his Arsenal players. The Spaniard has overseen Bukayo Saka's meteoric rise, Granit Xhaka's renaissance and Ben White's right-back transformation.

Right now, for Mikel Arteta ’s flat-footed equivalent, nothing is. Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge, the Gunners are enduring their worst run of form in almost a year, since the dip last December that eventually proved so costly in the title race.