After Arsenal’s embarrassing performance against Liverpool on Sunday, Stuart Pearce blamed the Gunners’ problems on the players with contract issues.

Arsenal have a number of key players in the final year of the contracts and not looking likely to extend their deal as things stand. Pearce thinks these players are creating a negative atmosphere of uncertainty at the club as a result.

 

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “Too many players are out of contract, too many players look a little bit disillusioned and too many players look almost uninspired, if Sunday’s performance is anything to go by.

“That’s where the problem lies, I think, and not outside in the transfer market. There are too many questions at Arsenal at this moment in time.”

Pearce then went on to talk about Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, saying: “I think [Alexis] will end up not signing another contract at Arsenal, that is for sure, and then he’ll leave. Whether he will leave now, or whether he will leave next summer – that remains to be seen.

“I can see why Arsenal want to keep hold of [Oxlade-Chamberlain] but on the other side of that if I think [he] needs a new challenge now. I think he needs to hear a new voice from a manager. I see a good fit for him at Liverpool, I really do.”

There’s no doubt that the uncertainty is causing problems at the club, at least on the basis of what we’ve seen on the pitch. Ox looked nowhere near his best when he was playing, and then stomped angrily off the pitch when he was substituted. He looks set for a move to Chelsea.

All the rumours before every game so far have been about whether one player or another will leave and that can’t be something that goes completely unnoticed by the other members of the squad. Hopefully, the end of the transfer window brings an end to the speculation.

Arsene Wenger has desperately tried to tie his best players down to new deals, but has been rejected by Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis and Mesut Ozil. The Ox has agreed a deal with Chelsea, Alexis looks set to leave for free in 12 months and Ozil is currently in talks over a contract extension.