William Gallas fears Arsenal will have to settle for just one trophy this season despite being in contention for three pieces of silverware.
The Gunners’ hopes of landing a new signing evaporated before the international break following their Carabao Cup final defeat against Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s side are back in action against Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday evening and will be hoping to bounce back, before they begin their Champions League campaign in midweek.
Despite their strong position in Europe and the chances of progressing to the semi-finals of the competition which represents Arteta’s only major trophy in his six years in charge, Gallas believes it is the Premier League title that will head to the Emirates Stadium in May.
Galla customs football problems: Can Arsenal win the treble? I think Arsenal will win one trophy and that is the Premier League.
They still have to be careful, but normally they would win the Premier League at this level.
‘Champions League? I do not think so. The FA Cup all depends on the result between Liverpool and Manchester City.
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‘If it’s Manchester City in the end, I think Manchester City will win. If it’s Liverpool vs Arsenal in the final, Arsenal will win. It’s a different style and I think Liverpool’s style suits Arsenal well.’
Meanwhile, Arteta will be assessing his squad this afternoon ahead of the trip to St Mary’s with fears that at least 10 of his players are injured.
William Saliba was one of the players who chose not to play for his country. Gallas admitted that the centre-half was playing a dangerous game, if he has not been seriously injured before the World Cup, but believes that Arteta was wise to guard against unexpected setbacks.
“I saw the news on William Saliba when Didier Deschamps gave the list for those two games and Saliba was on that list but he didn’t go because he was injured, but I saw the end of the Carabao Cup and Saliba played the whole game,” Gallas added.
‘I think Arsenal have protected their players. I don’t know if they are really hurt.
For me, it is very difficult to understand if you play 90 minutes and the last and nothing happened, nobody saw anything in him, then they send a message to the French national team to say that he is injured.
“They have tried to protect their players from getting one more game on their feet because then it will be like a sprint for the rest of the season.
They still have three competitions to win the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League. They tried to be very careful with the players during the international break.
‘It is through agreements between the club and the national teams. If the national team asks for that player, the player has to go there.
‘I don’t know what was discussed between the medical staff of the national team and the team.
‘If every team did that, there would be no international football. That shows you the pressure Arsenal have on their shoulders. That’s why they did it.’
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