Arsenal’s Leadership and Mental Strength Questioned by Former Captain Patrick Vieira

Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira hinted at a lack of leadership among the current first-team squad during Sunday’s 3-2 home defeat by Manchester United.

Premier League leaders Arsenal would have moved seven points clear of challengers Manchester City and Aston Villa in the title race had they beaten United at the Emirates Stadium.

But a first home loss of the season left Mikel Arteta’s men just four points ahead with 15 rounds of fixtures remaining.

The Gunners are aiming to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004 — when Vieira skippered the famous Invincibles side to glory.

Arsenal have finished second on five occasions since they last won the title, including in each of the past three seasons.

Those near-misses have increased the pressure on the Gunners to finally get over the line, but Vieira is not currently convinced by the “mental strength” of Arteta’s group.

Patrick Vieira questions Arsenal’s “mental strength”

Vieira was at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday in his role as a guest pundit for Sky Sports.

Speaking at half-time with the score at 1-1, Vieira said: “There are still some questions about the mental strength of the team.

“That performance they will be really disappointed with, not because they lose the game but the way they lose the game. They didn’t create enough, [Bukayo] Saka and [Leandro] Trossard, on the left, didn’t produce enough to create danger for United.

“They need a leader to lift the spirit of the team. They need someone to make them understand when they are on the field they need to play with more energy and take more risks because they have the quality. It is a disappointing performance as they didn’t express themselves.”

Arsenal had been gifted the lead by a Lisandro Martinez own goal, but Bryan Mbeumo equalised on 37 minutes.

Patrick Dorgu then fired United in front with a spectacular strike five minutes into the second half. A scrappy Mikel Merino goal from a corner drew the Gunners level again, only for Matheus Cunha to bag a long-range winner with just three minutes remaining.

Cunha’s strike meant that Arsenal’s defence had conceded three goals for the first time in 122 matches.

Who are Arsenal’s leaders?

Martin Odegaard is Arsenal’s first-choice captain, having been voted into the role by his teammates.

Odegaard is part of a five-man leadership group that also includes Saka, Merino, Gabriel and Declan Rice.

Of those designated leaders, Saka, Rice and Gabriel played the full 90 minutes against United on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Odegaard started the match before being subbed off for Merino in the 58th minute.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta responds to Patrick Vieira’s “mental strength” comment

Vieira’s mid-game comments about leadership and mental strength were put to Arsenal manager Arteta after the final whistle on Sunday.

Arteta responded: “That’s fine. We accept every opinion, where it’s coming from. They have the right reason to say it.

“At the end, we have to show the mental strength that we have on the pitch when it comes to a match day.

“I think we started the game really well, the first half hour we were very dominant. After that we gave them the goal. Errors are a part of football, very unlike us, but we gave them the goal and hope, and that shifted the energy because from half-time we really struggled especially to keep the ball in the right areas.

“In the second half they had two brilliant goals, some individual quality and magic moments. I think we managed to shift the energy, score the second goal, and you could feel that everything changed. The game was ready to go and win it.”

What is next for Arsenal?

Arsenal’s attention now switches back to Europe.

On Wednesday night they will host Kairat of Kazakhstan in their final game of the Champions League’s league phase.

Arsenal are already on their longest winning run in Champions League history, having started their campaign with seven straight victories. An eighth would see them become the first team to complete a perfect league phase campaign since the Champions League revamp.

Arteta is likely to rest some senior stars against Kairat in order to keep them fresh for the next Premier League assignment, which is a trip to Leeds United on Saturday.