Former England international Carlton Palmer believes that Arsenal have lost their identity under manager Mikel Arteta since Arsene Wenger left the club.

The Gunners have endured an absolutely terrible start to the season.

The opening weekend saw a 2-0 loss to Brentford, before Arteta’s side were outclassed by Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in another 2-0 defeat. Prior to the international break, Arsenal reached their nadir of the season thus far, losing 5-0 to Manchester City, with Granit Xhaka sent off.

The results have left Arsenal bottom of the league table ahead of their clash with Norwich City once their stars have returned.

Palmer insists that the Gunners have not managed to grow since Wenger's departure, with clubs seeing them as a beatable side, provided they are physical in their game and make life difficult for the north London side.

Indeed, he believes that the club used to be able to swat sides away when they were at Highbury.

Speaking to Football FanCast, he said: "Even under Arsene Wenger, they had that identity. You know when you went to Highbury or the Emirates to play against Arsenal, first and foremost, you knew you were in for a tough game. I think people look at Arsenal now and see it as an easy touch. 

"If you go and play against Arsenal and get up against them and be physical against them, you've got to be careful because they've got good players who can play on the ball but not a complete unit. You look at it, you think, 'I fancy my chances here'. Before, you used to go to Arsenal and you knew you had to be at your very best, and that was just to get out of there without being turned over big time."