BBC pundit thinks one Arsenal player has more influence in dressing room than Aubameyang

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Jermaine Jenas spoke on BBC Match of the Day about the one player Arsenal dearly missed in their game against Burnley yesterday.

The Gunners suffered their fourth consecutive home defeat in the league at the hands of the Clarets on Sunday. Granit Xhaka’s red card cost us the game, and our woes in front of goal continued.

Arsenal were on the front foot at the start of the second half. We looked better than we have in our last six league games, but a moment of madness followed by a lack of a real leader who would have kept us going despite being a man down proved to be the difference in the end.

Jenas believes that Arsenal really missed a true leader on the pitch yesterday. It wasn’t Mesut Ozil who would have helped with the creativity and it wasn’t Thomas Partey who would have provided better balance to our midfield – it was David Luiz.

He said: “I get a feeling that David Luiz is a real leader in that team and has authority on how things go in that dressing room, I really do and I think that they and Arteta is missing that.”

“I feel like he [Luiz] is actually the lieutenant. Aubameyang might be wearing the armband. I’ve got a feeling that David Luiz is the one that is saying how things go in that dressing room.”

Luiz is definitely a leader

One of the biggest reasons why Unai Emery signed Luiz and Arteta went above and beyond to keep him was his leadership qualities. The Brazilian is one of the most respected players in the club and the youngsters really look up to him.

Aubameyang is similar in his own right, but the Arsenal skipper doesn’t quite seem as vocal as Luiz. The Brazilian, as a defender, has his flaws and we have all seen that. But, his experience and leadership are still extremely important for us.

Arteta will have a lot to think about in the summer. Luiz will be a free agent, and it looks highly unlikely that Arsenal will try to keep him considering his age and also a recent report that claimed that he and the Gunners boss have fallen out. (Read here)