The Gunners played a goalless draw with champions Leicester City on Saturday, but Wenger left the King Power Stadium to a chorus of boos from his own supporters.
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Arsenal may be entertaining on the pitch, but they lack a key player with “personality”, according to Patrick Vieira.
‘I have no real solution at central defence at the moment and he had a big back problem on Friday when he [Koscielny] came out of the training, ‘ Wenger said. I think they can do it a bit more.
“I quite admire that, in the world where some clubs have so much money, they go and buy players who are 40 million pounds and are worth 10 million”, Vieira, who captained Wenger’s last title-winning team in 2004, told British media. That is not a quality, buying a top player, that is different – and we are ready to do that.
“I enjoy watching Arsenal play now”, he added.
He said: “It doesn’t cost a lot of money, that. Leicester are a good team – they did not win the league and only lose three games last season for nothing”.
‘But I just have a feeling they are missing something – the physical presence, the personality.
Wenger has bought midfield man Granit Xhaka from Borussia Moenchengladbach for £35m this summer as well as £2m on 20-year-old Rob Holding, who was excellent against Leicester. So I thought maybe he would get away with it.
Vieira was a star turn of Wenger’s thrillingly successful teams in his formative years at Arsenal, yet that early success has been replaced by a regular diet of disappointment in the Premier League over the last 12 years.
“Why do you say I’m reluctant?” he said at a post-match news conference.
Vieira continued: “I’m disappointed not to have ex- Arsenal players working at Arsenal”. “The flawless example is Ajax when you see all the old players working for the club”.
This term the lack of transfer activity has been a sore point for fans, but Vieira has pointed out that the style of player the club now have may be affecting Arsenal’s chances of rekindling league successes.
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Arsenal fans have given Arsene Wenger plenty of stick this past week, firstly over the loss to Liverpool and now the fact that another week has passed and still we see no new faces around the Emirates.
