Arsenal news: Despite Unai Emery's success, old flaws highlight Gunners' lack of leadership on the pitch

Unai Emery has established his reign in north London. Now the Gunners need a new leader on the field, not just off

And so Arsenal unravelled. Miserable, hollowing defeats against Crystal Palace and Wolves in which leadership proved a lost entity as the reins to a top-four finish were sheepishly handed back to Chelsea. An act of bedwetting, at such a pivotal stage of the season, which evoked all the tired eulogies on “mental strength” of Arsene Wenger’s latter, wounded years.

It has been a turbulent first season for Unai Emery. The Hadean baptism of back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea, the unexpected highs of the 22-game undefeated streak, the brittle slump and subsequent recovery. Finally, as all paths appeared reconciled, the promise of a grandstand finish is threatening to end in unmitigated collapse.

So now a visit to Leicester brings more angst about what might be, rather than the excitement of what could be capitalised upon as Chelsea face fellow top-four rivals Manchester United. The discontentment roared in 60,000-strong swathes at the Emirates, the squad’s ugly downturn at Molineux reviled like an oil tanker flooding its wares off the coast of a Caribbean Island. And so in edgy moments such as these, the lens of hindsight is easily rendered redundant.

But even if Arsenal are to miss out on the top-four, compounded by defeat over two legs to Valencia in the Europa League semi-finals, only the most withering critics could claim that Emery’s first 10 months in England have been anything but a success.

The greatest achievement thus far though is not the overhaul on the pitch or the levelling of inflated egos in the dressing room, but something a little less tangible in how Emery has steered Arsenal through what is still very much the embryonic stages of the post-Wenger era. You only have to look at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer veering clear of Sir Alex Ferguson’s parking space six years later, possibly scrubbing furiously at the nametag with a dishcloth, to see what a complex that can be.

Losses like those to Palace and Wolves, replete with individual errors, mindless lapses of concentration and a worrying lack of resilience, can act as an automatic reset button. Not one to undo all the progress made but to expose the cracks the manager is still yet to plaster.

The rickshaw defence is an easy target. They lack physicality – something Emery has admitted to himself – but have also been stricken by unfortunate long-term injuries to Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding, while the creaking Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny are both regularly bussed back and forth from the treatment room.

Diogo Jota celebrates scoring Wolves’ third against Arsenal (Getty)

The deepest flaw, underpinning Arsenal’s woeful away form in which they’ve taken just 22 points all season and kept just one clean sheet, remains a vacuum of leadership. For too long Arsenal have seemed a team happy to pride themselves on chasing a feel-good factor and wear a smile even when defeated – a feeling no doubt accelerated by the often toxic atmosphere from their supporters in previous years. It’s hard to pinpoint a single player in today’s squad who would readily sacrifice that for the sake of a win-at-all-costs mantra. There is no true leader; no voice audible above the parapet; nobody to spread spite on a gruelling trip to the likes of Turf Moor, to rally, rollick and haul his team over the line.

At Liverpool, Andrew Robertson can regularly be seen serving Sadio Mane with unequivocal bursts of articulate Scottish. Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Henderson are constantly reinforcing and corralling from the team’s spine, shouting so obnoxiously loud that their voices can be distinguished from the stands. At Manchester City, Fernandinho, Vincent Kompany and Kevin De Bruyne all take pride in that same role.

Arsenal’s best leader already has one foot out the door (AFP/Getty)

It’s hard to remember the last time when Arsenal did in fact have a player of that ilk. Per Mertesacker’s treacle legs were often a primary panic-stoking weakness; Laurent Koscielny has never been one to grab his teammates by the scruff of the neck; an unspoiled Alexis Sanchez bore many leadership qualities, but too often overflowed into bitchy frustration; Mesut Ozil has always been a talisman, but best expresses himself through sulks.

Mikel Arteta was one of Arsenal’s last true leaders on the pitch (Getty)

Perhaps it was Mikel Arteta, even if only for a fleeting time, and it is no coincidence that he is still visible as Pep Guardiola’s third lung every weekend, and is destined to have a fine managerial career of his own. Beyond him, you find yourself searching into a previous decade. Aaron Ramsey has now blossomed – albeit belatedly at domestic level – but already has one foot out of the door. Behind him, few are ruffling feathers to get in the queue. The longer the absence of such a figurehead, the harder they become to replace.

It’s a problem that existed long before Emery’s arrival. One which would always take longer than one season to solve. First, the Spaniard had to focus on casting his own imprint on Arsenal. He can only be praised for how he has done so. The squad have adapted to his philosophy, there’s an easy fluidity between formations, the evidence of improvement is in the statistics and even Mesut Ozil now appears to have slunk around the corner after a long wrestling match.

Even if Arsenal cannot recover from those two defeats, even if they slip more points against Leicester, the transition has been navigated. Now, there is an anchor from which to build-upwards and the potential for improvement is clear. But to do that, Arsenal will need a leader on the pitch, not just off it.