George Graham: 'Arsenal lack leadership'

Olivier Giroud of Arsenal looks dejected after defeat during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium on August 9, 2015
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Former Arsenal boss George Graham suggests that the Gunners lack leadership after losing 2-0 to West Ham United on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Former Arsenal manager George Graham has claimed that the Gunners lack leadership following their defeat to West Ham United on the opening day of the Premier League season.

The Hammers emerged 2-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday following a lacklustre performance from the hosts.

Graham has claimed that too many of Arsenal's key players went missing against Slaven Bilic's side.

"I was really disappointed and very surprised by Arsenal," he told talkSPORT. "Their pre-season form had been excellent and I thought, 'right, let's go at West Ham.' But it amazed me that after the first 20 minutes, both sides had 50% possession - when does an away team come to the Emirates and get that sort of possession? Very, very rarely.

"I was really surprised Arsenal didn't press the ball and put West Ham under pressure, and maybe that just shows you the lack of leadership at the club. I didn't see anyone get a grip of the game.

"Arsenal have some brilliant players, but [Mesut] Ozil was very quiet - you never really saw him - and Santi Cazorla was on the left wing in the first half and he doesn't like playing there. You're looking for your big names, your big players, to perform, and they didn't do that yesterday."

Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace next Sunday.

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2Tottenham HotspurSpurs311710456243261
3Arsenal30167748301855
4Manchester CityMan City30156952322051
5West Ham UnitedWest Ham301311647351250
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd30148838271150
7Southampton31138104132947
8Stoke CityStoke31137113437-346
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12Everton29911951411038
13Bournemouth31108133850-1238
14Watford30107133032-237
15Swansea CitySwansea3199133140-936
16Crystal Palace3096153240-833
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18Sunderland3068163655-1926
19Newcastle UnitedNewcastle3067172955-2625
20Aston Villa3137212258-3616