Arsenal captain Aubameyang's body language 'worrying', says Piers Morgan

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's negative body language is a major concern going into Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham, according to Piers Morgan.

Since winning at Manchester United on November 1, Arsenal have gone three Premier League games without victory, scoring just one goal as they recorded two defeats in those three matches.

Aubameyang, who ended speculation over his future by signing a three-year deal with the club in September, has scored just one league goal since the opening day of the season, which was a penalty in Arsenal's victory at Old Trafford.

The slump in form sees Arsenal sit 14th in the table going into Sunday's clash with Spurs, who are top of the Premier League and unbeaten since the opening weekend of the season.

"There's something about the body language, particularly of Aubameyang right now," Arsenal supporter Morgan told Sky Sports News.

"Whether that's a lack of confidence because he hasn't scored for a few games, whether there's something behind the scenes… there's something going on behind the scenes I think at Arsenal.

"Whether it's linked to Mesut Ozil and his situation, with £350,000 per week going to a guy sitting there on his Playstation, I don't know, but it seems to be seeping into this team - a little bit of discontent, a lack of fight, a lack of passion, a lack of coherent tactics, and all these things, we had them a few weeks ago, so they've gone somewhere.

"It's worrying, and I think the most worrying thing for me, as a huge fan of his, is what's going on with Aubameyang. I'm hoping the sort of pressure and adrenaline rush of the north London derby will stir him back into the form he had last season."

Arsenal's recent struggles have increased scrutiny on head coach Mikel Arteta, who received widespread credit for the impact he made after replacing Unai Emery last December, with the club going on to win the FA Cup last season.

With the club only eight points adrift of Spurs going into Sunday's clash, Morgan believes the Spaniard needs to be given significantly more time to mould the squad to his liking.

"I think you've always got to give a new manager, I believe, probably three or four windows. They've got to get the team that they want to be judged on," Morgan said.

"I felt, ironically, that we had a very, very good transfer window in the last one. We brought in some very good players - Gabriel, (Thomas) Partey, Willian. We resigned Aubameyang - it all looked good.

"I still believe in Arteta for the longer term. I think that Arteta is the right kind of character. I always say Wenger took us back a long way. For the first eight years he was a genius, for the next 14 he was not a genius and I think we really lost our way the last few years of Wenger's tenure and it's going to take a while to get back to the top."

Both sides have injury doubts going into Sunday's match, with Spurs waiting on England captain Harry Kane and Arsenal on the fitness of summer-signing Thomas Partey.

The Ghanaian midfielder, who joined from Atletico Madrid, played a crucial role in Arsenal's victory at Manchester United, but was substituted at half-time during their next league match, against Aston Villa, with a thigh problem and has not played since.

Arteta warned earlier this week that he still expected Partey to miss the "next few games", but Morgan is holding out hope of a surprise return.

"I think Partey is the key," Morgan said. "He seemed to be the lynch pin for that United win, so I'm just praying that he's fit and that Harry Kane doesn't get on the pitch.

"I'm a big believer in Partey. I think he's come from the Diego Simeone school. He looks like a proper world-class player to me, a proper general and I'm hoping that he will galvanise us."