'They need a leader!' - Patrick Vieira calls out two Arsenal players after damaging loss to Man Utd & questions 'mental strength' of Mikel Arteta's squad

Arsenal have endured a tough January so far in the Premier League which has raised fresh doubts over their ability to end their long wait to be crowned champions of England. After opening 2026 with a win over Bournemouth in the top flight, Arsenal picked up goalless draws again Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. Manchester United then arrived at the Emirates on Sunday and took home all three points after winning a thrilling game 3-2. Mikel Arteta admitted afterwards it was "very painful" defeat for his side, with title hopefuls Aston Villa and Manchester City now just four points behind the Gunners.

Vieira knows all about winning silverware with Arsenal, after claiming three Premier League titles during his time with the Gunners, and says Arteta's men lack leaders. The Frenchman also singled out two players in particular for blame. He told Sky Sports: "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."

Looking for smarter football bets? Get expert previews, data-driven predictions & winning insights with GOAL Tips on Telegram. Join our growing community now!

Vieira's comments were put to Arteta after the game and the Arsenal manager 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."

Saka spoke out out after Arsenal's defeat and says it's time for the players to show their character. He told the club's media: "I think we didn't show our best level for the full game, which is frustrating. It's such a big game with a lot riding on it. Obviously, the Emirates has been a place where we've been so strong this season. It's a tough loss to take, but we have to stick together. We go again next week; we'll try and get back to winning ways. In football, you can score, you can concede - it's your reaction after it. Obviously, we would have wanted to make it 2-0, but we didn't. Overall, we're just not too happy with the performance. The journey's not always going to be smooth, there's going to be ups and downs. It's up to us to show our character next week. That's all our focus is now, we can't change the result now. We look forward and onto next week."

Arsenal will aim to get back to winning ways next time out in the Premier League when they face Leeds United on Saturday at Elland Road. Elsewhere, Manchester City head to Tottenham and Aston Villa host Brentford at Villa Park.