Alexis Sanchez has given a withering assessment of this Arsenal side in the wake of last night’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea.

While he believes Arsenal have the quality of player to win the title, he says they lack the mental fortitude to take English football’s top prize.

Having come back to win 2-1 against 10 man Leicester, Arsenal have dropped 6 points in the next two games, going down to Man Utd and relegation threatened Swansea, pretty much ensuring that whatever was left of a title challenge is down the pan.

And Alexis says it’s a mental issue, more than a quality one.

“If we go out on to the pitch with hunger to become champions, to win the Premier League or the Champions League, we can achieve it,” he told Directv Sports.

“There are great players here, I train with them daily and they have got the mentality and the desire to win but sometimes, we lack the hunger, the mentality that we are winning 1-0 when we go out on to the pitch.

“Sometimes, we lack this hunger to believe that we can be champions … to go out on to the pitch feeling that we are already winning 1-0.”

“I remember a game against Manchester United last year. The lads looked hungry for silverware as we took to the pitch. We crushed them in the first 20 minutes and went 2-0 up. We were hungry and brimming with confidence that day.”

Sadly that confidence has evaporated, and that performance looks more the exception rather than the rule. What will confidence and belief be like going into Saturday’s derby.

We shudder to think. Form goes out the window in a derby, so they say, let’s hope so.