With Arsenal having had the same manager in charge for over two decades comes certain things like stability (or stagnation) and while other clubs like Chelsea chop and change and you never really know what to expect from them, Arsenal are often accused of having the same old problems season after season.
Some of these accusations strike me as cliches and an easy way out for pundits, but some do seem to hit the nail on the head and one of the latter is the idea that while the Gunners squad is full of ability there are not enough leaders willing to take responsibility and drag the team through the tough periods of a match or a season.
It has not always been that way, of course, with notable former Arsenal stars like Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira some of the more prominent players known for their leadership skills. That is the sort of thing that the current Arsenal side needs according to another club legend Ian Wright, who spoke to the BBC about the problem this week.
Wrighty reckons that Arsene Wenger could and should have addresses the issue this summer by signing players like Nemanja Matic who instead went to Old Trafford to rejoin his former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and I cannot disagree.
However, another player Wright mentioned in the interview was the Southampton and Netherlands centre back Virgil Van Dijk and he is still available, especially after the news reported by The Mirror and others today that the Dutchman has handed in a transfer request and released a statement making his desire to leave the Saints crystal clear.
So Wenger still has a chance to sign at least one player with leadership quality as well as footballing ability, but will he do it?
D.N.