Arsenal branded "pretty average" for two reasons ahead of crucial Liverpool game

Emmanuel Petit believes looks 'pretty average' . The Gunners lost their unbeaten start to the season over the weekend as they were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth on the South Coast.

Mikel Arteta's side was hindered by - the third red card suffered by the team in its just eight Premier League matches so far this season.

Arsenal's team was not at full strength from the off at the Vitality Stadium, with Saka and Odegaard both missing the match through injury. Odegaard sustained ankle ligament damage during the September international break and has missed his team's last eight matches, while Saka limped off with an apparent hamstring injury during England's defeat by Greece earlier this month.

Odegaard is in the final stages of his rehabilitation but it seems unlikely that he will be ready in time to face this weekend after being ruled out of the Gunners' Champions League game against Shakhtar Donetsk. Meanwhile, Saka is back in training and will likely feature against the Reds.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta said: “They are closer. Both progressing well. Martin [Odegaard] not fit [to face Shakhtar]. With Bukayo, let’s see how he is with the training session later on.”

will come as welcome news to former Arsenal player Petit, who believes his old club's starting XI looks rather underwhelming without two of its best players.

"I wouldn’t say they look like a mid-table team without Saka and Odegaard, but they certainly look much worse as Saka is so effective and one of the best wingers in the league and they look pretty average without them," Petit said. "We’re so lucky that Saka hasn’t been injured for a big period, can you imagine if he got injured for two or three months? It would completely derail the season. The first XI of Arsenal is as good as Liverpool and City, the difference is on the bench."