MX23RW : Friday, May 24 05:21:49| >> :120:20395:20395:

Patrick Vieira: 'Arsenal lack physical presence needed to win league'

Patrick Vieira tells Arsene Wenger to sign some physically strong players if he is to turn Arsenal back into a title-winning force in the Premier League.

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira has claimed that his former side are currently too soft to be considered serious contenders for the Premier League title.

The Gunners have not won the English top flight since 2004 when the Frenchman skippered the North London outfit through the campaign unbeaten.

Vieira, who is now in charge of New York City FC in Major League Soccer, believes that Arsene Wenger needs to bring in some more powerful players if Arsenal are to end their 13-year title hoodoo.

"In our generation we had some fantastic players with the ball but the majority of the players were quite physically strong," he told The Mirror. "We had Dennis Bergkamp, who had the flair, and Thierry Henry who could finish and had so much power, but also players who were athletic with the physical aspect like Sol Campbell, some really strong personalities with Jens Lehmann, David Seaman or the back four.

"You had this Arsenal Invincibles which was quite like the French national team when we won the World Cup in 1998, when we had physical players, players with flair, players with pace, it was quite similar of that team. Now when I watch the Arsenal I will enjoy watching them play, they play some of the best football in the league.

"But I have a feeling that they are missing something and this something is the physical presence, the personality. This last five-six years Arsenal went more with this type of mobile, technical players who are completely different. Arsenal are always going to be one of the teams who can win the title because of the way they play but at the same time they will be disappointed losing games they should win."

Arsenal have begun the 2016-17 season with one point from their first two games, having followed up their opening-game defeat to Liverpool with a goalless draw against Leicester City.

ID:279583: cacheID:279583:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3376:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Ex England and Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman attends the regatta during day five of the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week on August 07, 2013
Read Next:
Seaman: 'Arsenal not ready for new season'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!