**Former Chelsea, Arsenal and France defender William Gallas believes Mikel Arteta’s side still fall short of Premier League champions Liverpool.**
The two played last weekend in perhaps the biggest match of the season so far, with both teams looking for the chance to put down a marker and deny their title rivals points and a psychological advantage.
Ultimately, despite controlling much of the match, Arsenal were beaten by a superb Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick, and went into the international break with their opponents on the up.
Speaking to [Gambling Zone](https://www.gamblingzone.com/uk/), Gallas was not completely sure whether Arne Slot or Arteta will win out, but he did say that Liverpool’s will to win appears greater.
He explained: “I’m not sure which approach is the best, yet. I think the thing with Liverpool is that even when they are in trouble, they will find a way through. They are going to find a solution.
“Look, when they played against Newcastle they were in a spot of bother, but they still won in the end. They got a bit of luck when Anthony Gordon got that stupid red card.
“That gave Liverpool a huge advantage and let them dominate the game. Even if Newcastle then fought back at the end a little bit, it was Liverpool who had the look of champions, and they left St. James’ Park with three points.
“This season I think Liverpool’s football is going to be a little bit freer. Arne Slot knows he has the quality, he knows the Premier League. He knows all of his opponents very well this time around, so it’s going to be very difficult for the other sides to catch him and Liverpool.”
“Now, if we talk about Arsenal, they’re strong through the middle. They control the ball. With the players they’ve got, they can score at any time. But after what I saw against Liverpool, I think they still lack a little something. I think that is going to be a problem this season, especially with their supporters. They have a complete squad now, and there are no excuses left. Arteta added the striker, they’ve got great midfielders and defenders. They’ve got everything they need to become champions.”
The Frenchman concluded that Arsenal may now have enough players of sufficient quality, they might still not have the mental strength needed to get to the finish line ahead of everyone else.
He explained: “Against Liverpool, they were still lacking something. I think they’re missing that anger, that edge. I think they don’t have the energy. There wasn’t a player who stepped up to try to lift the team.
“There weren’t players who were looking to talk on the pitch or encourage the players around them. I didn’t see anyone doing that, and that’s part of what they need. I didn’t see anyone in the Arsenal shirt that really wanted it (to win).”