Alan Shearer thinks Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was wrong to stay on after winning the FA Cup last season.

Wenger came under increasing pressure to leave his role last season as his contract ran down. However, if the FA Cup final win against Chelsea at Wembley presented the French manager with an opportunity to bow out on a high, it wasn’t an opportunity he was willing to take, signing on again for two more years.

Alan Shearer wrote a column after the Liverpool match in The Sun and clearly thought that this was a mistake, saying: “Arsenal had a good end to last season, winning the FA Cup. I said at the time that it would have been the perfect moment for Wenger to bow out.

“He would have done so with plaudits ringing in his ears. Not now. After deciding to stay, you knew they were only ever going to be one defeat away from another crisis — with the fans divided over a boss who has given them so much, yet whose powers are fading.

“The Cup triumph had papered over ever-growing cracks as they failed to qualify for the Champions League. Whatever Wenger is saying, the players simply cannot be listening. Or if they are then the messages from the manager must be wrong.”

It certainly didn’t seem like anyone was listening to the manager on Sunday, as the Gunners provided almost nothing at all, rolling over for Liverpool at Anfield. The players Wenger has at his disposal all seem talented and yet the performances do not reflect this whatsoever.

Arsenal were on a high after winning their opening game to Leicester City, although the performance was panned. They followed it up with a 1-0 defeat away to Stoke City and 4-0 defeat away to Liverpool. The Gunners are currently 16th in the Premier League table with three points from as many games in the Premier League this season.

Just three games into the new campaign, Arsenal are unravelling already and find themselves six points adrift of leaders Manchester United in the table.