William Gallas Urges Arteta to Sign 3 Defenders After Man City Loss

Former Arsenal centre-half William Gallas has insisted that the Gunners need to make major changes to their defence this summer if they are to have a successful campaign in the Champions League. Rob Holding has endured a torrid time since stepping into the team to replace William Saliba, who suffered a potentially season-ending back injury. This was highlighted in Wednesday night’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City which effectively ended Arsenal’s hopes of ending a 19-year wait for the Premier League title. Gallas believes Mikel Arteta must sign an experienced defender capable of competing with Saliba and Gabirel Magalhaes while further depth is required in the full-back positions. Kieran Tierney is likely to depart in the summer due to his lack of opportunities this season, while on the opposite flank the injury-prone Takehiro Tomiyasu has played only a bit-part role this term. Gallas said: ‘Next season Arsenal will play in the Champions League. That is a big competition that everyone wants to play in. I think that Arsenal needs to add one experienced player at the back. You want that player to create competition within the squad and put pressure on William Saliba and Gabriel. You also want that player to help William Saliba and Gabriel improve because they are both still young and they can improve parts of their game. After that, you’re looking for Arteta to make sure that he finds the right balance and can rotate the squad to handle the demands of competing in the Champions League and the Premier League.’ Gallas continued: ‘If you look at the left back, I’m not sure what will happen with Kieran Tierney in the summer, but if he leaves, then they will need to add another player that can come in and compete with Zinchenko. He needs to be under more pressure. I don’t think he is brilliant defender – but we all know what he can do with the ball. You also need a top class right back. This season Ben White has helped out there and it works against the smaller teams. However, when the level is higher, it is much more difficult for him to get forward and so he makes more mistakes defensively.’