Ian Wright believes Arsenal should have tried to sign Nemanja Matic from Chelsea because the midfielder would have been the "perfect" leader for the Gunners.

Matic completed a £40million move from the Premier League champions to Manchester United in late July after the midfielder was left out of Antonio Conte's squad for Chelsea's pre-season tour of the Far East.

That decision came after the Blues signed Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, although Conte remained coy when asked whether it was himself or Chelsea who sanctioned the sale of Matic to a direct Premier League rival.

Wright believes that Arsenal would have been the better fit for the Serbian, and insisted the 29-year-old would also have brought much-needed leadership qualities to Arsene Wenger's team.

Writing in his column for The Mirror, Wright said: "When Chelsea decided to sell Nemanja Matic, I would have loved to have seen Arsene throw his hat into the ring.

"Of course that would have been hard to swallow for Blues fans, but surely not as bad as seeing him go to Manchester United under their old manager.

"I think Matic would have been perfect for this Arsenal side, and the general and leader who could have taken the team by the scruff of the neck."