Arsenal's board "haven't got a clue" and must take the blame for their current crisis, according to former England international Jermaine Jenas.
The ex-Tottenham midfielder says he "felt a bit sorry" for Gunners players during their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
The struggling north Londoners were well beaten with Freddie Ljungberg still in caretaker charge after Unai Emery's sacking.
But Jenas believes the problems lie at the very top as he slammed the lack of direction as they reportedly prepare to interview up to 12 potential new managers.
"In a weird way, I felt a bit sorry for the players on the pitch," Jenas said on Match of the Day 2.
"They had no direction, no confidence, and they were taken apart at will. And do you know what, fair play to a lot of the fans who did stay, they were singing for their club and I almost felt sorry for the players who were on the pitch taking the battering.
"That’s the bigger picture. They need to sort themselves out at the top end of things.
"[They are] talking about interviewing 12 different managers, which tells me they haven’t got a clue in terms of the type of club or team that they want to be.
"And now they have a team on the pitch who have no direction, with a manager who has very little experience, and that’s why I want to protect the players.
"I felt really sorry for them, because that was really embarrassing for them."
Arsenal appear to have stepped up their pursuit of Mikel Arteta as the club's chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has been pictured leaving the Spaniard's Manchester mansion in the early hours this morning.
Former Gunners skipper Arteta, currently assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City , has been strongly linked with the managerial vacancy at the Emirates.
And that speculation will undoubtedly intensify after Gunners chief Venkatesham was seen visiting Arteta in a meeting that went on until the early hours of Monday morning.
The club's lawyer Huss Fahmy, widely regarded as Arsenal's chief contract negotiator, was also in attendance and was spotted leaving Arteta's home before climbing into a Mercedes car.
