Ray Parlour believes that while Arsenal had a good run of form towards the end of the season, once again, they’ve been inconsistent in the league, which is why they’ve finished fifth.

• Parlour praises Arsenal’s FA Cup performance against Chelsea
• Claims Arsenal lacked leadership for most of the season
• Admits that lack of consistency cost Arsenal a top four finish

Speaking about Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Chelsea at the weekend, Parlour pointed out what a superb performance it had been from all the players but also questioned where this attitude was during the season when they were losing to the likes of Crystal Palace.

“They’ve certainly got a good squad,” he said.

“At times, they’ve lacked that little bit of a leadership quality during games, which has really affected them.

“Games against West Bromwich Albion away, Crystal Palace, you know, poor performances.

“And I didn’t see what I saw at the weekend in their performances.

“So, they have been a little bit inconsistent this year and that’s probably why they have come fifth in the league.

“Certain games they haven’t turned up for and certain games have been big, big games. You know, Liverpool they lost to twice, Spurs. You look at games like that and they haven’t turned up for them.

“So, they can look at themselves and think what a great performance it was at the weekend but over a long period of 38 games, they’ve been very inconsistent.”

Arsenal have had an issue with inconsistency for years.

Arsene Wenger’s side never just lose a match and move on, they spiral out of control before picking themselves up in the nick of time. However, this season, they were too late and they were punished for their mistakes.