Former Arsenal defender William Gallas has launched a scathing assessment on his former club - and raised serious doubts about their title credentials.
The Frenchman has also slammed the defeat by Fulham on New Year's Eve as 'unacceptable', with Mikel Arteta's side preparing to face Crystal Palace when Premier League action resumes this weekend. Arsenal sit fourth in the table, five points behind league-leaders Liverpool and three behind reigning champions Manchester City. They have won just two of their last eight matches across all competitions.
Gallas, who never finished higher than third with the north London side but won the Premier League twice with Chelsea, believes it is an issue Arsenal have seen time and again that will cost them.
He told : "Arsenal always have the same problem. When you are in that position and you are top of the Premier League at Christmas, you simply have to keep that position.
"That means every game you have to win and that’s why for me, it was unacceptable that they lost to Fulham away. It’s a problem of the players as they didn’t do their job, they weren’t good enough and it was unacceptable.
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"With Arsenal, it’s always the same problem and it seems to be happening over and over again. That’s why the media are talking about how many points Arsenal are going to drop over Christmas and New Years Eve."
Gallas believes that Arteta's squad do not have the mentality to sustain a title challenge over the course of the season and highlighted the team's reliance on Martin Odegaard. The former Chelsea and Tottenham player believes that on occasions where the Norwegian international is not at his best, his teammates are not reducing his burden.
(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)The ex-France international also discussed Arsenal's "poor mentality" and suggested they struggle when captain Martin Odegaard "isn't at the races". He added: "If the media knows their problem, the players have to understand it and they have to do more and fight to win even if they don’t play well. They don’t have that mentality at the moment.
"I was speaking about Odegaard, who is so talented and his technique is unbelievable. But if he’s not on the level we expect him to be, it looks like the team doesn’t play well. It’s not only Odegaard though, he’s not the only one, but I don’t think he’s been at the level he needs to be at."
Gallas believes the Gunners will have to settle for Champions League qualification with Manchester City and Liverpool leading the way. The 46-year-old believes City's comeback against Newcastle is the perfect evidence of the credentials they hold to win the league once again.
He said: "Man City will win it. Then Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham will make up the top four. Aston Villa will finish fifth and Chelsea will finish sixth. To qualify for the Europa League, Chelsea have to finish sixth and I think they’ll qualify for it. It will be between United and Chelsea for sixth place.
"They’re two clubs that are having similar results and the same inconsistent performances. Chelsea are only three points behind West Ham in sixth so anything can happen!"
Gallas added: "When the season started, I look at Arsenal and I said they won’t be champions this season. I said it will be City and look what happened on Saturday. They were losing 2-1 and then won 3-2, so it looks like they have the champions mentality. I think it will be City this season but next season I think Arsenal has a good chance."
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