What constitutes a crisis? Back-to-back poor results? Below-par performances? Injuries to key players and replacements not up to standard?
All of these could be true of Arsenal at the moment.
Whichever way you look at the past few weeks since the international break, Arsenal are going through a difficult period – including the disappointing 2-0 loss at Bournemouth and the lacklustre performance against a well-drilled Newcastle United.
Right now, the vibes are not good. And the performance at St James’ Park on Saturday was worrying on many levels.
For over a decade, Arsenal have worked hard to shrug off the idea that they are soft and easy to bully. Fans are still haunted by the thrashings experienced at the hands of Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United in the not-so-distant past.
Saturday’s scoreline was not quite such a disaster, but the performance was. It was the type of display fans had hoped Arsenal no longer had in the locker – technically poor and lacking in the fight needed to get past a good side in a fierce atmosphere.
To make matters worse, on Monday fans were waking up to reports that sporting director Edu is to leave Arsenal. The reasons for his rumoured departure are not yet clear, but the timing is far from ideal.
“Crisis” might be too strong a term for some fans. It is still only November and, with Manchester City also faltering at the weekend, the route to the title could look very different from previous seasons.
Arsenal still have a very talented squad capable of much more than they are producing at the moment.
Put simply, Arsenal have played themselves into this crisis and now they must play themselves out of it.
Find more from Laura Kirk-Francis at the Latte Firm podcast, external