Ian Wright wants three Arsenal players dropped including £180,000-a-week Wenger signing

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Ian Wright spoke on Matchday Live on Optus Sport after our 1-0 defeat to Burnley about the three Arsenal players who are letting Mikel Arteta down.

The Gunners had a decent first half, but our performance immediately after the break was arguably the best in over a month. It seemed only a matter of time before we would score, but Granit Xhaka’s moment of madness ruined everything.

Arsenal tried hard with 10 men but couldn’t get over the line. An unfortunate header from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ended up in the back of our own net, and that was enough for Burnley to take all three points.

Wright, like all Arsenal fans, was frustrated with the performance. Xhaka was the primary culprit, but the former Gunners striker believes Willian and Alexandre Lacazette are also letting Arteta down with their poor displays.

Wright: Laca, Xhaka and Willian are letting Arteta down

He said: “This is the time you need experienced players most – he’s shown a lot of faith in them and they’ve kind of let him down. Mikel’s not totally exonerated for blame because he’s had a lot of faith in players who’ve not done too much.”

“He’s stuck with Xhaka for a while, shown a lot of faith in him. The same with Willian, the same with Lacazette. There’s players now who should be getting a blast at it – Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe, Ainsley Maitland-Niles.”

“He needs to do something different. If it carries on like this and he continues to have the faith in these players (Xhaka, Lacazette and Willian) and they’re not delivering I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

Xhaka’s actions yesterday are inexcusable. The Swissman is hugely experienced and calls himself a real leader. However, what he did against Burnley last night showed the complete opposite.

Willian, on the other hand, has tried hard but it’s just not happening for him. The Brazilian doesn’t look anything like the player he once was, and he is proving to be one of our worst signings in recent years.

However, the criticism of Lacazette is just a bit harsh. Yes, he hasn’t been great, but it’s difficult to impress people on your own when everyone around you has been worse.

Lacazette should keep his place

The £180,000-a-week striker (Spotrac), signed by Arsene Wenger in 2017, has been pushed down to a number 10 position. That is completely new to him, but he has linked play up a lot better than the other midfielders Arteta has used over the last two months.

Xhaka will not be available for the next three games which puts him out of the equation altogether. Willian should make way for Nicolas Pepe, who is now available for the game against Southampton on Wednesday. Lacazette, however, has to start unless Arteta decides to hand Emile Smith Rowe a chance in attacking midfield.