- Gallas believes Arsenal won't fight for title
- Cites a lack of strong characters
- Face tough pressure from Spurs and Newcastle
WHAT HAPPENED? For the majority of the 2022–2023 season, the North Londoners were the league leaders; however, a late-season collapse caused them to lose the title to Manchester City. Gallas played for Chelsea in 2005 and 2006, and he was a member of multiple title-challenging Arsenal teams that challenged for the league title in the late 2000s. Gallas believes that Mikel Arteta's men will not be able to challenge for the title this season due to a lack of strong characters in the dressing room.
WHAT THEY SAID: When talking to Lord Ping, Gallas said: "Arsenal are capable of winning important games, such as the one against Man City, but we expect them to drop points, and we don't know why. The Newcastle game was what it was. We all know how tough it is to play against Newcastle, but Arsenal had to leave with the three points. That's the difference between a team with a lot of character and a team without it. Man City have a lot of character and we saw that in their wins over Manchester United and Sheffield United, and the latter was in the last minute.
"We know how tough the Premier League is, and you need to have players who will give the team security. You need to have the right strikers and right defenders. Arsenal have a good squad, but they need that player who will drag them out of tough situations. They don't have that player at the moment."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: This season Arsenal also face a tough fight from Tottenham Hotspur, who sit second in the league with the best attack and a further developed Newcastle United, a team who the Gunners have already lost to this season.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Arsenal will now take on newly promoted Burnley at the Emirates on Saturday, November 11.