GRAEME SOUNESS DELIVERED a withering assessment of Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, describing it as ‘so weak, so insipid, so pussy-footed and totally unacceptable’.

Speaking in his role as a pundit for Sky Sports, the former midfielder lashed the North Londoners’ performance and didn’t hold back with his criticism after watching the Gunners’ title hopes take a big dent.

“There’s a word I want to use, but I can’t use it, which describes a lack of something that ‘real’ players have”, he began.

“This Arsenal team lack it in abundance. They have none. I’ll stand on my head if they prove me wrong and go and win the league because that, today, was totally unacceptable.”

Souness was particularly peeved at what he felt was Arsenal’s massive missed opportunity.

“I thought that, today, they would come here, with an opportunity to put a marker on the wall, and say ‘We’re back in this race’”, he said.

And they’ve come here today and been so insipid and so weak and so pussy-footed, all they’ve done today is said to the opposition, ‘This team can be rolled over’. If I was an Arsenal supporter, I’d be so angry right now. There’s so much of Arsenal to like and, in equal measures, there’s so much to dislike.

I’ve been in dressing-rooms where there’s real people digging other people out. I couldn’t imagine that from that group of Arsenal players. And I think they play like that.”

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