'It is blowing up in his face' - Arteta called out for Arsenal transfer blunder

The Gunners manager has been called out for an increasingly poor decision by a renowned club legend.

Arsenal legend Alan Smith believes Mikel Arteta has signed a transfer flop in Willian and the winger’s struggles are ‘blowing up in his face’.

The former Chelsea star switched allegiances over to north London last summer in a free transfer. His arrival appeared to be a coup at the time, especially as there was no hefty transfer fee involved. Halfway into the season, however, he hasn’t lived up to his billing whatsoever.

“It all comes down to attitude,” Smith told Stadium Astro on Willian. “If the approach isn’t right, if he still hasn’t got that hunger then you’re not going to get performances out of him.

“Can Mikel Arteta work with him on the training ground? Can he try and get more out of Willian? Going back to his Chelsea days, how many times did you see him make those bursts and letting fly. He was a goal threat week in, week out.

“We haven’t seen that and that’s what Arteta wanted when they invested in him. At the moment it’s blowing up in his face.”

The former Gunners striker added on Willian: “What was his motivation for joining Arsenal?

“At the moment it’s easy to say it’s for the money and he’s lost that hunger, that’s how it looks from the outside.

“Those performances have not been good enough and it’s a big problem for the manager.”

Smith, who scored 115 goals in 347 appearances for Arsenal between 1987 and 1995, also offered a bleak assessment on the club’s record signing Nicolas Pepe by suggesting ‘his football intelligence looks short’.