William Gallas
William Gallas is hugely disappointed with his former side Arsenal this season
William Gallas has blasted Arsenal's "unacceptable" results by claiming Premier League champions do not drop points as cheaply as the Gunners.
The former Arsenal captain, who was speaking ahead of today's top-flight clash against one of his other old sides Chelsea, feels Mikel Arteta's men only have themselves to blame after falling a whopping 15 points adrift of table-toppers Liverpool.
Gallas told Prime Casino: "This has been Arsenal’s problem for years. They drop too many points against the smaller clubs in the Premier League.
"Yes, they drew to Nottingham Forest, they lost at home to West Ham, but have you seen some of the other results? Ten draws is too many for a team that wants to win the league. Premier League champions don’t draw at home to Everton and West Ham. They don’t lose to Bournemouth away.
[
Mikel Arteta makes bold Myles Lewis-Skelly claim after first England call up](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mikel-arteta-myleslewisskelly-claim-england-34867395)
[
What Arsenal players think about failure to sign striker with three ideal solutions missed](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-striker-transfer-isak-sesko-34866974)
"It’s unacceptable for a club like Arsenal to drop points like this year-after-year. Yes, we all know the Premier League is very competitive, we all know that the level has gone up across the league, but when you keep making the same mistakes, you have to question the mentality of the players."
While injuries and officiating decisions including Arsenal's five top-flight red cards have cost the Gunners dearly throughout the course of the campaign, Gallas still feels as though the title was there to be won by his former employers.
Arsenal surrendered a late lead against Liverpool in late October and later drew at Fulham, at home to Everton, away to Brighton and at home to Aston Villa.
But in the past month, the gut-wrenching 1-0 defeat to West Ham plus 1-1 disappointing away draws at Forest and Manchester United has left them with a mountain to climb and the focus has now undoubtedly shifted towards the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta
Arsenal now trail Liverpool by 15 points in the Premier League title race
(
Image:
Getty Images)
He continued: "Winners don’t settle for draws or defeats, they win at all costs. Liverpool have drawn seven games but they’ve lost one.
"You’re only going to get so many chances to win the league. When the door opens, you have to walk through it. In the last three seasons, the doors opened twice, and they turned around and locked it. It's so annoying. It's not because the opponent was too strong.
"It’s because Arsenal drew games, dropped points against small teams. If it was against a big club, a big team, I would say, okay, no problem. But when they take the lead and they can’t hold on to it, it’s frustrating."
Earlier this week, Gallas also took aim at Arteta by claiming top managers don't pass on the chance to sign a marquee striker - deemed the missing piece of the puzzle by supporters - for two years running.
He said of the Spaniard: "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."
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Sky Sports deal
Sky Sports launches discounted Premier League package £35 (was £43)
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £192 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky
Get the deal here