Former Arsenal manager George Graham believes the Gunners are missing a leader. Arsenal had a disappointing start to their season after losing 2-0 at home against West Ham United following a lackluster performance from the hosts.
George Graham, who was known for being strict both on and off the pitch, managed Arsenal from 1986 to 1995 and helped them to two league titles, two league cups, an FA Cup, and Arsenal’s only UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Gunners’ performance on Sunday surprised Graham, who expressed how disappointed he was after seeing that Arsenal could not dominate on their home turf.
“I was really disappointed and very surprised by Arsenal,” he told talkSPORT. “Their pre-season form had been excellent and I thought, ‘right, let’s go at West Ham.’
“But it amazed me that after the first 20 minutes, both sides had 50 per cent possession – when does an away team come to the Emirates and get that sort of possession? Very, very rarely.”
He also criticised how Arsenal never controlled the tempo of the game and attributed this to a lack of leadership.
“I was really surprised Arsenal didn’t press the ball and put West Ham under pressure, and maybe that just shows you the lack of leadership at the club. I didn’t see anyone get a grip of the game.”
He then attacked the star players who were nowhere to be found during the 2-0 home defeat.
“Arsenal have some brilliant players, but [Mesut] Ozil was very quiet – you never really saw him – and Santi Cazorla was on the left wing in the first half and he doesn’t like playing there.
“You’re looking for your big names, your big players, to perform, and they didn’t do that yesterday.”
Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace next Sunday, where they will desperately try to redeem themselves after this atrocious loss in front of their supporters.
