Arsenal legend Tony Adams was left ‘deflated and disappointed’ by Unai Emery’s first game in charge.
The Gunners lost 2-0 at home to Premier League champions Manchester City and, according to Adams, there were little signs of change under the new boss.
He told talkSPORT: “It was the same kind of performance. I was a little bit deflated and disappointed.
“Coming from Arsene who always played open attacking football, I really wanted the new manager to come in there and tighten things up.
“For the last ten years now – [we’ve been] leaking goals, soft away from home.
“I wanted him to put his new goalkeeper in, work with his back four, have two screening central-midfield players, and keep a clean sheet. It was crying out for it. But I didn’t see that.
“I thought he got a lot of selections wrong. His three best players were his subs [Alexandre Lacazette, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Lucas Torreira]. I don’t know why he didn’t start with them.”
Asked if his former side, for which he made a staggering 669 appearances, could challenge for the top four this season, Adams was pessimistic based on Sunday’s showing.
He added: “I can’t see it. I don’t know what he’s been doing for the last six weeks.
“He’s been rotating all of his players and giving them all a game. They’ve got some good results but it’s pre-season.
“From minute one, I would’ve picked my own goalkeeper, my back four and put the two lads in that I want to screen those, and get a firm base that’s been missing for the last ten years.
“You’ve had six weeks of pre-season – go on, get on with it!
“Arsenal fans up and down the country all want him to challenge for the title but at the moment we’re nowhere near.”
Adams believes the lack of defensive solidity at the club has had a serious impact on the output of star player Mesut Ozil.
He continued: “Ozil has no players around him. We haven’t got a captain. We haven’t had a captain since Patrick [Vieira].
“We haven’t had a screening player since Gilberto Silva. They’re all individuals, they’re not working as a unit.
“They need to get some resilience back. Then you’ve got a base for Ozil to go and do his stuff.
“I think he’s one of the best players in the world and he’s going through a difficult period.
“But he needs someone around him to say ‘come on son, away we go, do your stuff.”
