Jamie Carragher was at it again tonight, blaming Arsenal's defensive lapses against Stoke on a leadership void in Arsene Wenger's side.
The former Liverpool defender left no doubt as to the Gunners' flaws in Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Stoke, and singled out captain Per Mertesacker for particular criticism.
The German was guilty of turning his back on a Steven N'Zonzi shot and Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, said: 'When someone’s shooting you try to make yourself as big as possible.
'He’s making himself as little as possible by turning his back. That is not acceptable for a player of his quality and experience. This is your captain on the day and you talk about leadership, you talk about the character that Wenger always goes on about after the game. He’s abandoned ship.
'He’s left the young players on their own and abandoned ship. It’s just not acceptable.
'If you look at the back four and the goalkeeper – Mertesacker’s experience, the games he’s played and the caps he’s won, stands out. There are two teenagers there. You have to help them but he didn’t. You can see it throughout the goals on Saturday.'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GWqX4dgNn0
