Arsenal accused of 'crapping themselves' in Premier League title race with Liverpool as ex-Gunners star blasts 'mediocre' Martin Odegaard & Declan Rice

The north London outfit have fallen agonisingly short of claiming the top-flight crown in English football across the last two campaigns. Mikel Arteta was expected to put his side back into contention this season, but a three-game winless run across Premier League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup competition is seeing more questions asked of Arsenal’s trophy-winning credentials.

Former Gunners defender Gallas has told Prime Casino: “I don't want to be too rude about Arsenal, but it looks like they are scared to take advantage of the opportunity they’ve been given this season. They are crapping themselves! Manchester City dropping off has given them a massive opportunity top win the Premier League and they haven’t taken advantage, and when Liverpool have dropped points, and I think they will drop more, Arsenal haven’t capitalised.

“At Arsenal, it’s been the same problem for years. They are missing a world-class striker! We’ve been talking about it for years! Did they make a mistake by not signing a proper striker in the summer? When you look at the chances they are missing the answer is obvious. Not having a killer has cost Arsenal too much this season. Out of the FA Cup in a game they dominated, hanging by a thread in the League Cup and dropping points in the Premier League. It’s not a good look for the Gunners when they keep missing so many chances.”

Quizzed on who is to blame for the inconsistency at Emirates Stadium, Gallas added: “Firstly, you have to blame the Arsenal players because they don't really realize the opportunity they have to win the league – they’re not performing in every game and that is what you have to do if you want to win the Premier League. They are not consistent. I also think you have to blame the Arsenal board and Mikel Arteta for refusing to buy a proven striker in the summer.

“When Arsenal have challenged for the title over the last couple of seasons, the players were playing at the top of their game. This season, there have been too many mediocre performances. Martin Odegaard, what is going on with him? He doesn’t look like the same player we’ve seen dominate games over the last two years. I know he had an injury, but he has been really poor by his standards. Declan Rice. Where has he been this season?”

Another window of opportunity has swung open for Arsenal on the transfer front, with Gallas going on to say of discussions that will be taking place inside the Gunners camp: “The players in the dressing room know which type of players they need. They are colleagues, they are friends, they will talk about this all the time. They will say: ‘Maybe we need that player. Maybe some of our players aren’t good enough.’ It’s normal for players to have these conversations.

“Even when I was at Chelsea, and we won almost every game. We were still talking about some players if they had a bad performance. In the dressing room, we would look at individuals and say, ‘Look at him, he's down, he's given us nothing.’ It may sound harsh, but this is what happens in the dressing rooms of teams that win titles.

“I’m sure in the Arsenal dressing room, players are talking to each other, and they speak about individuals who haven’t performed or didn't have a good game, and they might think that player is not good enough, or we need another player.”

Arsenal sit six points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool at present, having played a game more than the Reds, and will see their claims to a first title triumph since the ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04 given another stern examination on Wednesday when taking in a derby date with north London neighbours Tottenham.