Arsenal told how to halt alarming form as Gunners legend says they are missing key ingredient

Arsenal dressing room leaders must take it upon themselves and end any self-pity from their teammates after defeat at Southampton.

That’s the view of Gunners legend Ray Parlour, who believes a lack of title winners could impact their chances of silverware this season.

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On Saturday, Arsenal were deservedly beaten 2-1 by Southampton to miss out on the FA Cup semi-finals and end their hopes of a treble.

The result came less than two weeks after Manchester City were 2-0 winners against them in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium.

Arsenal have lost back-to-back matches in all competitions for the first time this season, and there is a sense their heads have dropped.

But with Premier League and Champions League glory still available, Parlour has called for a rallying cry from their senior players.

“If you’re in that squad of players, you can’t feel sorry for yourself,” he said on Breakfast. “I don’t know what the squad is [feeling], I’m not in that dressing room at the moment, but we went through a similar sort of thing to this team in 2004 (the ‘Invincible’ season).

“We lost to Man United in the FA Cup, we lost to Chelsea (in the Champions League), Wayne Bridge [scored the winner] at Highbury, then we played Liverpool at the weekend [in the Premier League], we were 2-1 down at half-time.

“And suddenly a week… It can be a disaster for you, but you’ve got to roll your sleeves up. At half-time, a few of the players had a go at each other, ‘Come on, don’t feel sorry for yourselves, we’ve got to sort this out ourselves’.

“And then [Thierry] Henry was unbelievable in the second half and scored a hat-trick, and we won 4-2 in the end, that was the turnaround. So now, it’s all about tomorrow night against Sporting, which ain’t an easy game, away from home.”

Jamie O’Hara asked: “Do you think it’s the leaders in the group that need to get together and say, ‘Right, come on boys.'”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Parlour replied. “People like Gabriel, Declan (Rice), all those sort of guys have got to say, ‘Come on, we’re in a great position still’.

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“It could all go wrong quickly, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve said that all season. I was never the one to say, ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that’, because I know how football can change very quickly.

“As you can see, a couple of defeats, all the belief goes down, the confidence goes down, and it’s up to the players now to sort it out; it’s not always down to the manager. You’ve got to sit in that dressing room and say, ‘Come on!’

“Get people by the scruff of the neck and say, ‘This next game is vital for us, Sporting… if we can get a win out in Lisbon, it puts us in a great position again’. Bournemouth at the weekend, at home (in the Premier League), it’s never an easy game…”

Parlour: Arsenal don’t have experience of winning trophies

With six weeks left this season, Arsenal will be keeping a close eye on City in their bid for a first Premier League title since 2004.

They hold a nine-point lead at the top of the table but still have to play away to City, who also have a game in hand.

Many of their current squad, including Erling Haaland, Rodri and Ruben Dias, were part of their historic treble success in 2022/23.

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Parlour has noted the difference in success between Arsenal and City, with the former’s lack of silverware a potential stumbling block.

When asked if Mikel Arteta can finally get them over the line and win a trophy, he said: “Well, people have got to learn from their mistakes in different seasons, haven’t they?

“They have come second, they have crumbled a bit, and they’ve got to learn from doing that. There’s no doubt Man City have got so many players who have been there and done it, and it does help.

“It does help the young players as well when you’ve got experience, when you’ve won trophies. When I got into the team, and we started winning trophies, I was looking up to people like Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, (Steve) Bould, (David) Seaman.

“They all won trophies, and they would help you along the way. Arsenal have not got that in their ranks, winning a trophy together.”

Parlour added: “It’s all about the next game. You can’t worry about Southampton now, you’ve got to get back to the training ground, you’ll probably have a meeting about what happened, what went wrong, your performance.”

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Arteta told to replace experience with youth

Arsenal’s standout performer against Southampton was by far and away their teenage starlet Max Dowman.

The 16-year-old, who has enjoyed a hugely impressive breakthrough season, looked a class above his teammates at St Mary’s Stadium.

Dowman, the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, has even been tipped as a potential World Cup wildcard for England.

He could now be set for further first-team opportunities at Arsenal, with Arteta told to consider starting him over Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian international, who has been club captain since 2022, has experienced a drop in form compared to previous seasons.

“I’m not convinced by Martin Odegaard,” said journalist Henry Winter on the latest episode of the Premier League All Access podcast. “I just think against elite opposition, I want to see him take a game by the scruff of the neck.

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“The leader at Arsenal is clearly Declan Rice, and Gabriel… I’d rather see Max Dowman. I know he’s a kid, and we talk about the fact the main exams he’s got coming up are GCSEs rather than Champions League and Premier League.

“But I just think there’s a fearlessness to him. Kids of that age, they just don’t understand pressure, they don’t know about doubt, they just go out and play. I think that’s what Arsenal need at the moment.

“You rightly mentioned some of the players have got nerves, I think Dowman doesn’t. If (Bukayo) Saka is going to be out for a little while, and Madueke can then play on the right and you can play Dowman centrally, give him the ball.

“We said he was the best player for Arsenal on the pitch, he is fearless, he is bold. I’m not advocating he goes to the World Cup, I’m not advocating that he starts every game, I’m not even advocating that he starts in the Champions League.

“But I just think in the Premier League, physically, mentally, he looks up for it… Odegaard, he doesn’t hurt teams enough for me.”

Arsenal can make amends on Tuesday night when they face Sporting in their Champions League quarter-final first leg before returning to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with both matches coming live on talkSPORT.