William Gallas has launched an astonishing attack on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta by claiming the Spaniard is not a top manager.
The Frenchman, who used to captain the Gunners during his playing days, feels aggrieved his former club have fallen away in the Premier League title race and he attributes the entirety of the blame to Arteta.
Gallas told Prime Casino : “It’s unacceptable for Arsenal to be making the same mistakes year-after-year with the same manager.
“I don’t want to hear the excuses, I don’t want to hear about injuries. There are no excuses that are good enough when you’ve got a winning mentality.
“I don’t think he has it because Arsenal should have won at least one, maybe two titles and they couldn’t get it over the line.
“Arteta played the game, he knows that injuries can happen at any time, he knows that he can lose key players, that’s why you need to have a big squad. If you want to win, you don’t win the league with only 11 players.”
Arsenal, who are targeting Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko ahead of the summer transfer window, have failed to land a marquee striker in the past few years and have instead prioritised other positions in the market.
Infuriated Gallas has labelled the decision as “unacceptable” and feels the decision has proven all too damaging, stating: “Signing a striker seems to be a blind spot for Arteta.
“That’s why Arsenal have finished second for two seasons running, and it will be an unwelcome hat-trick this season.
“Every season, you always want to bring in one or two players. You need to add strength to what you have, and you need to keep players sharp, that’s what competition does to a squad. Arsenal should have signed a big striker in the summer of 2023, but they didn’t.
“They should have signed one in the summer of 2024, but they didn’t. Top managers don’t make that same mistake two seasons running. That is completely unacceptable.”
Gallas is particularly offended that Liverpool, in their first season under Arne Slot, are set to cruise towards the Premier League title. Slot’s instant impact at Anfield does not reflect well upon Arteta, according to the ex-Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham defender.
He continued: “Right now Arteta is a good manager, not a world-class manager, because a world-class manager makes the difference. A world-class manager wins titles. When you see Arne Slot, he’s in his first season, and nobody expected him to win the Premier League. He arrived with a big personality. Look what he’s done in one year.
“People are going to say he has a good squad. But last season, Arsenal had a good squad, but Arteta has shown too much faith to his players – his squad should be better this year, and the performances are worse than last season. I don’t really read the newspaper, I don’t really follow things, but nobody asks Arteta the right question.”
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