'He's got to deliver something special' - Ex-Arsenal captain warns Mikel Arteta he has no place to hide if Gunners fail to win Premier League trophy in 2025/26

Gallas was speaking to Gambling Zone about his expectations for Arsenal's 2025/26 season. The former Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham defender said nothing short of a major trophy would be considered a success for the Gunners after years of near-misses.

Gallas said he wants the players to show more "personality and character on the pitch", name checking Gabriel and Declan Rice as positive examples for others to emulate. He heaped the pressure onto Arteta, saying if his revamped squad cannot convert, he will be the one to blame. Despite that, Gallas still views Liverpool as the side with the strongest chance of winning the title this season. 

On his expectations for Arsenal's season, Gallas said: "To be honest, the last two years my expectations were to see Arsenal win the Premier League because for me, other clubs were underperforming and they had the chance.

"And what I expect from them as well is to have more personality, more character on the pitch. I really want to see players fighting in a positive way. Because we know the season is going to be long. We know sometimes there will be trouble against some teams and sometimes you have to show your character.

"Not just some of the players, but all of them. We know at the back they have Gabriel who can do that, and we know Declan Rice can be that guy too, but more need to step up. I want to see others who take responsibility and shout at their team-mates if they’re not doing enough."

When asked if Arsenal need to win a major trophy this season, he said: "Arteta doesn’t have five more years! Listen, with that squad, we are not talking about winning the FA Cup, the Carabao Cup. We are talking about the Premier League.  We are talking about the Champions League. Nothing else.

"If you asked the Arsenal fans to choose winning the Premier League and the Champions League, I think they would choose the Premier League. 

"That's why Arteta is going to have a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and as you said, he can't hide from anything. If he doesn’t win either trophy, he’s the one to blame. We have been waiting to see if he’s a manager who can win - now’s the time."

Arsenal will hope for a better performance when they host Leeds on Saturday night. It is unlikely that they will have Eberechi Eze available for that game, but as Gallas said, the Gunners should have more than an enough attacking power to comfortably win and build momentum ahead of their trip to Liverpool on August 31.