Former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes the absence of Robin van Persie was one of the reasons they failed to win anything this season.

Speaking to Sky Sports News after the shocking 3-2 Wigan defeat, the 37-year old explained how the Tottenham game clearly showed how important the Dutchman is for Arsenal and how much he was missed during this campaign.

Parlour also spoke of what comes next for Arsene Wenger. Age or contract issues puts Sol Campbell, William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre in a position not to rely on. Also, a new striker and a new goalkeeper could be needed, after Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski were far from convincing this year.

He said:

Arsenal have really missed Robin van Persie this season, as you saw when he came on against Tottenham the other night.

We talk about Wayne Rooney for Manchester United and Didier Drogba for Chelsea – if they were out for long periods would Chelsea and United be challenging? For me van Persie was a massive lost. Whether Wenger should have looked to bring in a striker during the January transfer window is another matter.

I’m sure this summer he will look at the goalkeeper position. Do they need to improve that position or can they work with what they’ve got? Only he can decide but from the outside it looks like they need a new goalkeeper.

But there are a number of positions he has to look at. Sol Campbell, William Gallas and Mikael Silvestre are out of contract in the summer so he will maybe need to bring in two centre halves, and he may need another striker.