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Campbell: Arsenal used to have leaders

Cape Town - Arsenal don't have the personalities to lead the team on the pitch, according to former defender Sol Campbell.

The former centre-back, who made over 100 appearances for the Gunners in the 2000s, has watched his former team lose their last two matches on the trot to Watford and Chelsea.

"I don't know what's happening now, but when I was there we used to police it ourselves," Campbell told Premier League Daily. "We had the characters to police it ourselves.

"We didn't allow the whole 45 minutes to go by, we would address it on the pitch because if you wait for 45 minutes and you are in, you might be 2-0 down.

"And we had the characters you know would say something, Patrick [Viera] would say something, Tony [Adams], Martin Keown, David Seaman, all these guys, from the front Thierry [Henry], Dennis Bergkamp, all these guys would chip in on the pitch while the game was going on.

"That's the key, you've got to have those characters on the pitch. The guys who will say something on the pitch, you don't need one, you need almost four or five saying their stuff if things are not going right."

Arsenal are currently fourth in the Premier League standings, 12 adrift of leaders Chelsea and at risk of surrendering their position in the top four to Liverpool and Manchester United, who are just one and two points below respectively.

"I think with Arsene [Wenger] ... he believes he can win the league," Campbell added, with the Gunners looking at another campaign where fourth spot, not the title, becomes their objective.

"I think he starts every season saying, 'right, we can win the league playing this style of football'. Obviously reality kicks in halfway through the season. It's not that easy because you need the personnel on the pitch.

"Top four, if they keep going like that, is going to be extremely hard to get because you've got Man United who are motoring now. Maybe they might just scrape it."

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