One of the joys of working in this field is the opportunity to speak with former professionals and in particular those that have played for Arsenal. To give you a small glimpse behind the curtain when these interviews are organised, I like to be prepared and have questions ready to run through that I feel will generate some good responses, hardly a surprising behind-the-scenes look but relevant in this case.
However, in my recent conversation with former Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham defender William Gallas exclusively for football.london, this was a very different experience. It is not one I will forget and nor would I want to because what had initially been expected to be a question-and-answer session turned into a full-on debate about Arsenal, the expectations of the club, where we both saw how things have changed and where they could go.
From the beginning of our conversation about Arsenal Gallas threw the first question to me. “Okay, and what do you expect from Arsenal?” Gallas asked.
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Slightly surprised but intrigued about where this thread could lead, I replied, “My expectation has to be progress, and progress from last season would be qualifying for the Champions League this season. I thought they were unlucky to miss out on it last year because injuries to [Thomas] Partey, [Takehiro] Tomiyasu and [Kieran] Tierney and that cost us a lot of points.”
For me, very few thought the Gunners would come close to a top-four challenge last season and the disappointment in missing out on Champions League qualification has perhaps tarnished what a positive surprise the last campaign was. This though is not how Gallas feels about the situation and what should be Arsenal’s expectations.
“Okay, so what I expect, and I’m going to tell you what I think and what I expect from Arsenal or from the clubs I played for, Tottenham or Chelsea, but more Chelsea and Arsenal, because I used to play against Arsenal a long time ago,” Gallas said.
“And I used to play against a team that was very strong to play against. Players that were very strong so that is why you won the Premier League a few times. I think the last time you won the Premier League was in 2004.
“I joined Chelsea in 2001 so for three years I played against Arsenal, and it was very difficult to play against them, play against the big players, world-class players. So that’s why Arsenal were very good at this time.
“So, for me, you’ve got the history, so for me for Arsenal is to win the Premier League and for me you know when you said it’s to qualify for the Champions League because they have to go to another level no, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, your target is to win the Premier League.”
This is where this debate gets tricky for me. Despite the fact that objectively I see the expectation for next season being Champions League qualification, the ultimate goal and expectation of Arsenal, as Gallas says, should be winning the biggest trophies be that the Premier League or Champions League.
“My expectation is absolutely to win, I agree with you,” I replied. “I want to win the Premier League, I want to win the Champions League, I want to win everything. Is there an expectation from you that you need to take that next step first, is there a step-by-step process to getting there?”
“Yeah, but how many years?” Gallas quickly snapped back. “It happened like this, how many years now?”
In short, I say, “Loads. Absolutely loads, too long.” To which Gallas says, “So that’s why.”
I cannot help but have empathy for both Gallas and so many supporters who are tired of waiting. Tired of season after season the title challengers getting further away from Arsenal.
There remains a belief in me that Arsenal can again get there but the mistakes of the last decade have taken the club backwards. Big decisions and plenty of correct ones would be needed to steer the club away from the slide and back toward progression.
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Something that I feel Mikel Arteta is beginning to achieve. Transfers will be huge, and this is something Gallas felt Arsenal could still be doing better, however, when challenged about potential players that would take the club toward his desires, the answer wasn’t quick to manifest.
“Let’s say I give you the keys to the kingdom you become the Arsenal manager for a day or the technical director,” I proposed. “Which players would you be looking at, to say these are the guys that are going to take Arsenal to that level?”
Gallas replied, “You know if I knew you were going to ask me that I would have done my research and tell you which, for example, defender you have to bring. So, for example, why are you not linking the defenders like Jules Kounde, why are you not linking to [Matthijs de Ligt]? Why don’t you get linked to that player?”
“I think because if they had the choice between going to Arsenal right now and a Champions League Chelsea or a Champions League Bayern Munich, I think Arsenal probably recognise that they’re going to struggle to compete. So, they’re going to go for say, Lisandro Martinez who is the player they’re being linked with at the moment because they feel as though competing with Man United, who are the other team in for him, is a more realistic target right now,” I explained.
“That’s why I don’t think they’re going for Kounde, whilst I agree with you, I’d love to go for players of that calibre I think Arsenal are going through a process where they’re taking that next step, go for Lisandro Martinez, Youri Tielemans is, of course, the other midfield target right now. Premier League experienced, I like the guy, I think he’s got lots of quality and I think he would add a lot to Arsenal’s midfield.”
The Frenchman agreed but was quick to turn the conversation toward the manager. He ended our discussion by explaining why he believed Mikel Arteta failed.
“For me, the last two years [Mikel Arteta] failed,” Gallas stated. “That is simple. Because what we expect from Arsenal is the minimum is to qualify for the Champions League. That is the minimum for a club like Arsenal. The minimum is to qualify for the Champions League and for two years it didn’t happen, so sorry, he failed.”
Finishing eighth in his first full season and being knocked out of the Europa League by his predecessor was indeed a failure. I was ready for something new at this stage.
However, the 2021/22 season changed my mind on the coach and despite missing out on the Champions League places I cannot agree with Gallas that he failed last year. We took a serious step back in the right direction and came very close to overachieving what many expected of the club.
Bringing the whole conversation full circle, it takes us back to where we began. Next season, the expectation must be to qualify for the Champions League.
Should we fail, Gallas and I can share a phone call again and sit on the same side of the fence. I hope that we’re celebrating an Arsenal qualification instead with a view of a title challenge in the very near future.
William Gallas was speaking to football.london in conjunction with Genting Casino.
