Arsenal have been accused of looking to "save a few quid" and simply avoid relegation with Freddie Ljungberg in charge by former player Paul Merson.
The Gunners are still searching for a permanent replacement for Unai Emery with club legend Ljungberg stepping up as caretaker boss and guiding them to a 3-1 win at West Ham on Monday night.
They performed a late turnaround inspired by Nicolas Pepe to get their first win in 10 games - but Merson is adamant the result simply papers over the cracks and they are going "nowhere".
He believes club bosses are simply looking for a way to save some cash for the remainder of the season before launching a rebuild to try and return to Champions League football.
Merson told Sky Sports : " Arsenal 's win at West Ham papered over huge cracks at the club. Don't let the late turnaround fool you, Arsenal are heading nowhere.
"When Arsenal turned to Freddie Ljungberg, they wanted him to come in and steady the ship. They would have thought 'we're not going anywhere, we're not going to get relegated and we can save a few quid'.
"But, all of a sudden, a couple of dodgy performances and it's panic stations. I just don't know where they go next."
Ljungberg is in the frame for the permanent job if he can impress whilst in temporary charge.
He insisted after their win at the London Stadium he is still working on a game-by-game basis.
"I speak with Edu," said Ljungberg after Arsenal's win over West Ham on Monday.
"Of course we played with each other, so we try to speak because I don’t have much staff so I talk to him sometimes about football.
"I’ve been told to work on a game-to-game basis and that is what I try to do.
"I’ve said this is a club I love and I’ll try to help as much as I can and then it is up to them to do what they do."
