‘Only PSG can play without a striker’ - Arsenal get Champions League warning from William Gallas as Premier League title holders bid to make European history

Viktor Gyokeres was acquired for big money in 2025 as Arsenal attempted to address a long-standing issue at Emirates Stadium. The Swedish frontman did register 21 goals in his debut campaign, across all competitions, but is yet to convince everybody - including his manager - that he is the answer to the Gunners’ No.9 dilemma.

Gyokeres has started just one Premier League game this season, with Havertz being asked to lead the line on a regular basis. He has found the target on four occasions - having opened his account for 2026-27 in the Community Shield - but is far from being prolific in the final third.

Questions are still being asked of whether Arsenal have enough up top to compete for the grandest of continental prizes. They came agonisingly close to ticking that box last term - with penalty shootout heartache being endured at the hands of PSG in the 2026 Champions League final.

The Ligue 1 heavyweights often field a fluid attacking unit - as the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drift around the field and interchange positions. Barcelona famously adopted a similar approach during Pep Guardiola’s time at Camp Nou, and do not have a recognised central striker leading their line at present.

Can Arsenal overcome the best that France, Spain and Germany have to offer in order to savour a first Champions League triumph without a fearsome forward spearheading their trophy quest?

When that question was put to Gallas, the ex-Gunners defender - who was speaking in association with SeatPick, the leading platform for Arsenal tickets - told GOAL: “I think it's only PSG who can play without a striker. They’re the only team that can still win games and win the Champions League without a striker. Luis Enrique has played without a striker who is a real number nine for many years so he conducts that system perfectly.

“For Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, I think he really needs that number nine who can help him win these important games and score that important goal and right now, it looks like they don't have that number nine.”

Arteta will get plenty of opportunities in which to piece together a winning formula this season, with defending champions Arsenal already five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.

They did suffer a shock defeat to League Two outfit Fleetwood in the Carabao Cup, but will open another FA Cup campaign in 2027 and remain unbeaten through four European fixtures - with epic clashes against Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid fast approaching.

Asked if competing on multiple fronts will help to keep everyone in the Emirates camp happy, as the likes of Gyokeres push for more minutes, Gallas added: “Unfortunately, Arsenal are out of the Carabao Cup now and that can be a good competition to make players happy, to make players feel that they are part of the project, because we know at the beginning of the season, everybody is very excited to fight for their position.

“Slowly, slowly, when you are fighting, when you are training very hard, and then on the weekend you are not in the starting eleven or you are not on the list for the weekend, slowly, slowly your excitement starts to drop.

“This is especially true in the winter period of November and December and January, you suddenly as a player you are not the same. You go to training but not really with the same motivation because before you even set foot on the training ground, you almost know you won't be in the starting XI for the weekend or you won't be on the list. That is very difficult sometimes for the players.

“That's why they have to be really, really strong and Mikel Arteta, he knows how to communicate with his players, to keep their seasons alive.”

Arsenal will return to action after the latest international break when taking in a trip to Newcastle on November 21. That contest forms part of a thrilling run through to the end of the calendar year.

Before 2027 is welcomed in, the Gunners will take on Dortmund, Manchester City, north London derby rivals Tottenham, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Plenty of goalscoring threat will be required in order to navigate that testing sequence of games relatively unscathed.