Tuesday 7 March 2017 12:35, UK
Frank Lampard has questioned the character of Arsenal's dressing room following the Alexis Sanchez saga this weekend.
The Chilean forward was a surprise omission from Arsene Wenger's starting line-up for Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield amid newspaper speculation that he walked out of a training session before the game.
Wenger has since denied that story and argued he benched Sanchez for tactical reasons before bringing him on at half-time, but Lampard said Wenger's approach has been "half-hearted".
The former Chelsea midfielder was a special guest on Monday Night Football and questioned the character of the dressing room in failing to deal with the issue internally.
"I don't think they've got a particularly strong dressing room, I really don't," Lampard said.
"I don't know them all personally but when you go through it you wonder who are the strong characters in that dressing room?
"There might be other players that are disgruntled, ones that are in and out of the team, and when criticism starts at a club it spreads. Sometimes players make excuses or all of a sudden they don't like the manager.
"When you're in that position, as Arsenal are, it becomes very difficult for the manager to deal with it.
"He has tried to deal with it but he hasn't really drawn a big line. He's drawn a half-hearted line. Now who knows where we are with it all?"
In similar circumstances, Diego Costa was left out of Chelsea's game against Leicester by Antonio Conte in January amid reports of a training ground rift.
But Chelsea were top of the Premier League at the time and Lampard said Wenger failed to take control of the situation with Sanchez because of his over-reliance on his star player.
He added: "What I find difficult for Arsene Wenger is he's not in a position of strength at the minute. He's been taking some criticism himself and the team have.
"If you look at how Antonio Conte dealt with Costa earlier in the season when there was talk of a problem there, they were top of the league and a manager can say stuff and deal with issues.
"When you've got your star man, your best player by far for me at the moment, and you try to discipline him, and you go to Liverpool in a massive game and leave him out and you win then you've got to go with that team and leave him on the bench for a while.
"Can that Arsenal team finish in the top four without him? I'm not sure they can.
"If you lose, as they did, you've got a real problem as well. I don't see where the real win was for him."
Jamie Carragher also criticised Arsene Wenger on Monday Night Football, arguing he should have either started Sanchez or kept him out completely.
"I did find it strange," he said.
"When you're disciplining a player you completely put him out of the squad. If he is a problem and you make that decision you don't want him travelling on the coach, on the plane, in the dressing room or in the hotel. You completely banish.
"All he has basically done is missed 45 minutes of football - and the fact he was on the bench heightens the story even more.
"Either completely put him out or play him and keep him in the team. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face.
"A manager has to be the main man at a club and set that discipline. I have no problem with that.
"I just think it was neither one, nor the other and it probably actually strengthened Sanchez's case with the first-half performance and the upturn when he came on in the second half."
