After a goalless draw at home with Slavia Prague, Arsene Wenger has delivered a withering assessment of Barcelona’s current form.

Speaking as a pundit on beIN Sports, the former Arsenal manager said that they play like ‘a team in crisis’, despite being top of LaLiga and of their Champions League group:

‘Their game is too slow. There is no dynamic in the last 30 metres, it’s too individual.

‘Every time they lose the ball, it looks like they will concede a goal on the counter-attack because they cannot deal with pace against the opponent.

‘The team lacks dynamic, lacks energy, lacks confidence.’

Much has been written this season about Ernesto Valverde’s struggles to get the best from new signings Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie De Jong.

There is also the lingering question of whether or not Neymar will return still hanging over the club, with some players claiming they are willing to drop their salary in order to accommodate the Brazilian.

However, according to Wenger, the problems run deeper:

‘Barcelona is an interesting case. They have a history of fantastic collective play, and on top of that came Messi to make differences.

‘Today, it looks like they play and they wait for Messi to do something, but the basic strengths of the team play is a bit gone. And you think, when will Messi get the ball to do something?

‘They have lost the charisma, and you can ask the question: how much is the failure of the last two years in the Champions League in that team?’

The draw at Slavia Prague came after a defeat in LaLiga to Levante, and with the news that Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has a clause in his contract which would allow him to join Barcelona after Euro 2020, Ernesto Valverde will undoubtedly be feeling the pressure.