Paddy Kenny says will not finish in the top four this season following a run of three straight Premier League defeats.
Currently fifth in the league, the Gunners are chasing down a place but face competition from Tottenham, who currently sit in the prized fourth position.
Earlier this month, Arsenal looked likely to finish ahead of their north London rivals but three successive losses to Brighton, Southampton and Crystal Palace has halted their charge.
Kenny, a former goalkeeper for Leeds and Sheffield United, thinks Arsenal have wasted their opportunity to qualify for next season’s Champions League despite only being three points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
Speaking to, he said: ‘They have gone from being on the front foot to all of a sudden being on the back foot.
‘They lost to Brighton at home. This is a struggling Brighton side who couldn’t score.
‘They scored twice and it was easy for them, it was embarrassing. Now Arsenal look nowhere near. The top four looked absolutely nailed on this time last month.
‘The form has gone and Tottenham look so strong. I thought Arsenal would be winning these games and they just don’t look at it. I think they are in trouble.’
Despite losing to Brighton in their last fixture, Tottenham have won four of their last five league matches and are scoring freely.
In contrast, Arsenal have notched just two goals in their last five games and appear to have run out of ideas in front of goal.
The loss of key players Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey has exposed the Gunners’ lack of squad depth.
Meanwhile, a seemingly strong defence has suddenly become leaky with Arsenal conceding six goals in their last three league matches.
Speaking ahead of their clash against Chelsea on Wednesday night, Arteta issued a rallying call to his players reminding them of the benefits of Champions League qualification.
He told : ‘Champions League brings first of all the club much closer to where we want (to be). To play in a competition that has a huge history and relation to our club.
‘And secondly, obviously, it improves every situation, with the sponsors, financially, expectations, the capacity to grow our players and expose them into a different dimension of a competition and this is where we want to be, so it’s a game-changer.’
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