Ray Parlour believes Arsenal needs leaders and has urged them to step up on the pitch.

This isn’t the first time Arsenal have come under fire for their lack of leadership. In fact, most pundits bring it up most weeks. But it’s true.

Speaking after our 3-2 loss against Manchester United and ahead of our midweek tie with Swansea, Parlour said, “I didn’t see anyone on that pitch demanding more from the players. The big players didn’t turn up and at the back they were all over the place.

“The most important thing is the leaders. When the going gets tough you need people like that; when I played we had Tony Adams and guys like that demand more from you when you’re up against it.

“Swansea on Wednesday is now a massive game for them and then they play the north London derby, and at the moment, Spurs are looking a much more complete team than Arsenal.

“It’s undoubtedly a big blow to Arsenal because with the players United had out it was a real opportunity for them to set their stall out.”

Although we went in at half time 2-1 down against United after two goals within three minutes, we could have turned it around. We easily had the fire power on the pitch and although the Red Devils were dangerous whenever they played the ball direct, they were still immensely vulnerable when we had possession. They were there for the taking.

What we needed after half time was someone on the pitch going around and giving our players a kick up the backside; getting mad; telling them to screw their heads on. We needed passion and fight, and even if we hadn’t come back to win it, at least the fans would have known they cared.