Piers Morgan slams 'pathetic' Arsenal after 'finger-gnawingly depressing' draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Burnley

The former co-presenter of Good Morning Britain, and host of the eponymous talk show 'Life Stories', labelled the Gunners' display at as "pathetic" as they struggled to break the Clarets down at the Emirates.

Surrey-born Morgan, 56, a former newspaper editor at the News of the World and the Daily Mirror, was transparently mortified by the result, which came after his side's exits from both domestic cup competitions.

The Sun columnist continued by accusing the visitors of 'parking the bus' while underlining Burnley' s status as the 'worst team in the league', adding that the approach of Mikel Arteta and his players was "finger-gnawingly depressing".

Writing after the hosts had failed to make their 76% possession and 21 shots on goal count, he said: "On Sunday night, as the final whistle blew at the Emirates after a pathetic performance against bottom-of-the-table Burnley, and loud boos rang out from the considerably-empty-chaired crowd, and half our team lay flat-lined on the pitch like they’d been shot, I once again found myself silent, open-mouthed, and staring blankly ahead.

"I’d returned to my old catatonic state. Arteta’s ‘trust the process’ drugs had worn off.

"It wasn’t just the fact we couldn’t beat the worst team in the league at home that sank the spirit, it was the way we played that was so finger-gnawingly depressing."

With the home side sacrificing their spot in the top four as a consequence, Morgan added: "Burnley parked the bus, as was entirely predictable, but despite having human greyhounds like Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka — two of many very talented but also very young and inexperienced players in the team — we inexplicably never found a way to get around it.

"Our tactics were shocking, our creativity non-existent, and there were frequent moments when we just stopped running and sloped around like energy-devoid sloths, endlessly tip-tapping the ball from side to side as if too fearful of Arteta’s permanent touchline wrath to try anything more adventurous.

"What the situation cried out for was a proper world-class striker to take charge and bully Burnley into submission — but Alex Lacazette is never going to be that guy. He’s too nice and not good enough."

The Frenchman squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to wrap up the points for the Gunners late on, but somehow turned Emile Smith Rowe's pull back wide of the upright when stealing a march on Burnley skipper Ben Mee.