Arsenal face Newcastle on Saturday afternoon off the back of two disappointing draws against Southampton and West Ham, and this time the Gunners have to do the business.

Dropping four points against Southampton and relegation-battling West Ham was not on the agenda for December. At least I assume not.

Arsenal were supposed to get all their terrible performances out of the way in November – does this team not respect tradition at all?!

The Magpies are looking pretty terrible this season, not that this means much against the Gunners it seems. They’re currently down in 16th after only winning four matches this term, all towards the beginning of the campaign, and have lost seven. They’ve also drawn eight – more than any other Premier League team this term.

alexis sanchez west ham
(IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images)

However, given the Gunners’ abject displays at St. Mary’s and the London Stadium, I don’t hold out much hope at all, even though we are at home. What an awful feeling, eh? To not feel as if your team can beat anybody anymore.

I’m not even nervous, I’m just apathetic. And I think that’s because the players look apathetic as well. Some of them genuinely don’t seem to care.

To make matters worse, Arsenal have Aaron Ramsey out for three weeks with a hamstring injury and Alexandre Lacazette missed out on most of the West Ham match with a groin problem. However, I’m still hoping the Frenchman will get a start on Saturday.

As long as we can stop Newcastle from going ahead early, Arsenal should be fine. But I’ve said that throughout December and here we are.

I’m sick of Arsene Wenger babying these grown men. Arsenal’s big guns – Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil – need to step up on Saturday. This apathy has to stop.