Arsenal Told the “Huge Amount of Drama” They Could Face If They Fail to Win Premier League This Season

Mikel Arteta has guided Arsenal to consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League, but failing to improve on that performance this season could lead to challenges for the club.

Former Arsenal captain William Gallas has expressed concerns that Arsenal could face “a huge amount of drama” if Arne Slot’s Liverpool overtake them for the Premier League title this season.

Both Arsenal and Liverpool are looking to capitalise on Manchester City’s misfortune after the reigning champions lost key player Rodri to a season-ending injury.

Slot’s Liverpool are currently leading the table, and with a win in North London on Sunday, they could extend their lead over Arsenal to seven points.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is coming off the back of two straight second-place finishes in the Premier League. His team finished five points behind City in the 2022-23 season and closed the gap to just two points last year.

Arne Slot, Liverpool’s manager, has benefited from a favourable fixture list, allowing his team to sit at the top of the league.

Despite the season being far from over, Gallas is concerned that a less experienced manager like Slot beating Arteta to the title could create issues for Arsenal.

“For me, that’s why if Arsenal doesn’t win the league this season, it’s a big drama,” Gallas told Prime Casino. “It’s a big drama, because you have to think about Arteta being in charge of that club for how long? Five years. Five years and they haven’t won the Premier League yet.

“If Liverpool win the Premier League in Slot’s first season, what does that say about Arteta and Arsenal? It would create a huge amount of drama.

“City are consistent. Liverpool are consistent, even with the new manager Arne Slot coming in. Someone will need to explain to me how Liverpool are doing so well under a new boss.

“He’s made following in the footsteps of Klopp look easy, and we’ve seen clubs attempt to replace legendary managers and find things far from easy.

“He should have the most difficult managers job in the league. It usually takes time for managers to have this type of impact, and usually managers ask for time. Slot has come in, bang! Top of the league.”

Arsenal and Liverpool will both miss important players in their upcoming weekend clash. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is unlikely to be available, and Mikel Arteta also expressed doubts about the readiness of Bukayo Saka and Riccardo Calafiori.

“Saka not training yet so he won’t be available and Ricci [Calafiori] felt something and could not stay on,” Arteta told Amazon after Arsenal beat Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night. “Bit of a worry.”

Liverpool are already without injured goalkeeper Alisson, while Slot offered an update on Diogo Jota after the forward was forced off early against Chelsea.

“It’s difficult to judge at this moment of time to see how long that’s going to take,” he said. “It’s bruised, so we have to see how long it is going to take.”

In other news, Mikel Arteta Cannot Avoid Upsetting Two Arsenal Stars After William Saliba Suspension