Arsenal may have made history in the Champions League on Wednesday, but they won’t win a trophy if they don’t improve.
That’s according to Jason Cundy, who is concerned about the Gunners following their drab 0-0 draw with Sporting.
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Mikel Arteta’s side managed to progress through to the semi-finals of the competition thanks to their 1-0 win in the first leg.
And they’re lucky they found that late goal last week, with Arsenal having just one shot on target at the Emirates Stadium this time out.
They will be pleased with the outcome in the end, as they reached the Champions League semis in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the club’s history.
But Cundy has raised some concerns over the Gunners’ performance up front against Sporting and how that could impact them.
The ex-Chelsea defender and Sports Bar co-host said: “If Arsenal do not improve at the other end of the pitch and become more creative and ruthless, I think they’re in for a nasty shock.
“That has got to change, it can’t carry on.”
Cundy added: “They’re not better than Bayern, they’re not better than PSG, those teams will score goals and you can’t play like that and hope to get away with it.
“You need to be creative and their players at the top end, look, things can change, but they’re just doing enough, just enough.”
‘They were rubbish’
Jamie O’Hara took a more brutal approach to giving his view on Arsenal, with Cundy expressing further concern for them.
“We’re at the stage of the season that performances are less important than results,” the latter started. “But they still have to matter, because there’s definitely a pattern emerging at Arsenal at the moment.
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“Tonight, they did enough, I never felt Sporting had the quality to hurt Arsenal… over the two legs, Arsenal kept them at arm’s length.
“If I were a Gooner, what would concern me is that we didn’t look like hurting them either, that would concern me a bit.”
O’Hara then said: “If that was Real Madrid, or Bayern, or PSG, they’re gone, they’re going out.
“Sporting just weren’t good enough, they didn’t have the players to hurt Arsenal, and Arsenal were there to get hurt, they were rubbish.”
Any encouraging signs?
Cundy also discussed where he thinks Arsenal have dropped off and insisted that if they don’t improve, they won’t win a trophy in a season which once threatened to see them win all four major pieces of silverware on offer.
“They had enough tonight, but the last three results domestically have not been good enough,” he said.
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“Tonight, they had enough to get over the line and that is the most important thing. However, if they play like that for the rest of the season, they’re not winning anything, they need to be better.
“They’ve lost their cutting edge up top, they’ve lost a sharpness on set pieces, there’s something that isn’t quite right.
“Defensively, they’re still very good, but they used to have a pointed attack, something about Arsenal that they could create chances or create moments that may lead to chances.
“They look like they’ve dried up now.”
He then finished with a now-famous Tottenham-related callback…
“I’ve seen signs, I’ve seen worrying signs… not encouraging signs.”
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