Lampard: Arsenal don’t have leaders; Sanchez is a real problem

Alexis Sanchez: Visibly frustrated against Bournemouth

Alexis Sanchez: Wenger arguments denied

Frank Lampard has criticised the character of the Arsenal squad and has had his say on reports of a bust-up between manager Arsene Wenger and star player Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez was a substitute for the Gunners’ loss against Liverpool at the weekend, with several newspapers claiming he was involved in a dressing room row and had walked out on a training session during the week.

Wenger claimed the reports were “completely false” and he had dropped the forward due to tactical reasons.

But former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard thinks Sanchez’s apparent unhappiness would not have been accepted at Stamford Bridge.

“What we did have at Chelsea is a very strong dressing room. If anyone messed around too much and it was detrimental to the team it would be dealt with,” he said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.

“I don’t think (Arsenal have) got a particularly strong dressing room. You go through it – I don’t know them personally – you wonder who are the strong characters.

“There might be other players who are disgruntled, ones who are in and out of the team. When criticism starts at a club it spreads and it becomes more.

“When you’re in that position that Arsenal are at the minute it becomes very difficult for a manager to deal with it. He’s tried to deal with it but he hasn’t really drawn a big line. He’s drawn a half-hearted line.”

 

Lampard could not understand the reasoning behind leaving Sanchez out at Anfield.

He added: “I think when you’ve got your star man, your best player and you try and discipline him and you go to Liverpool in a massive game and you leave him out – if you leave him out and Arsenal win, you’ve got to go with that team. You’ve got to keep him on the bench for a while. Can that Arsenal team without him finish in the top four? Not sure they can.

“If they lose, like they did, you’ve got a real problem as well. I don’t see where the win was for (Wenger) during the week.”