William Gallas pictured in 2023
William Gallas has issued a warning to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta
Former Arsenal captain William Gallas insists there's no room for error if the Gunners are to end their title drought this season.
The Gunners sit nine points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, having already lost twice in their first 13 league outings. They were beaten just once in their first 15 league matches last season, and lost just one of their first 21 the season before that.
Arsenal's next match is against Manchester United, the only team to beat them in the first half of the 2022-23 season. The Red Devils have changed manager since then, and new boss Ruben Amorim is unbeaten across his first three league and cup matches.
Mikel Arteta's team beat United home and away last term, though they needed two stoppage-time goals to clinch victory at the Emirates Stadium. Gallas insists his former club have no choice but to win this time around, with title rivals Liverpool in danger of moving out of sight.
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"Listen, Liverpool will drop some points eventually," Gallas said. "Let's say Liverpool draw twice and Arsenal win twice, a nine-point gap becomes a five-point gap quickly.
"Everything can change quickly in the Premier League. That's why Arsenal has to stay as close to Liverpool as possible. Against Man Utd, they don't have a choice. They have to win. They have to win against any club. They have to win against Fulham because Liverpool can drop points, even though they have a big squad.
"At the moment almost every club is afraid of Liverpool, but you never know what can happen. Until the end of the season, Arsenal has to do everything right. Don't regret anything."
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Arsenal scored two late goals to beat Manchester United at home in 2023
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Image:
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Gallas, who was speaking to Genting Casino, suggested victory over United would be useless if Arsenal can't follow it up with three more points against Fulham on Sunday. "We know when it's a big game, Arsenal is always ready, but I want to see how they are after Man Utd," he said.
"I want to see them go to Fulham and win. I’m not worried about when Arsenal play the big clubs, they just need to stop dropping points to the smaller ones."
Wednesday's match will be the first of two meetings between Arsenal and United in the space of just over a month. They have also been drawn together in the third round of the FA Cup, and Arteta spoke about facing a repeat of the 2005 final.
"That’s the thing about draws, you can get anybody," the Spaniard said. "We play at home, it’s going to be a big match again and it’s a little bit of the story of the last few seasons that in the third or fourth round we are playing big opponents but we want to do what we have done historically at this club and in the end, you have to beat the big teams to win it. It is what it is. We are excited. "
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