MX23RW : Friday, April 26 20:48:55| >> :60:2318:2318:

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
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Manchester CityMan City33237380324876
3Liverpool34228475344174
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton331111115254-244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


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!