Arsenal stars slammed as “fragile” ahead of North London derby clash with Tottenham

Arsenal are set to face rivals Tottenham in the North London derby this evening and former Gunners defender William Gallas feels Mikel Arteta’s side are “fragile”

Former Arsenal star William Gallas believes the Gunners are “fragile” heading into their North London derby clash against rivals Tottenham.

Arsenal are set to host Spurs at the Emirates this evening and Mikel Arteta’s side are looking to get back to winning ways, having failed to pick up a victory in their last three games across all competitions.

Since starting 2025 with a 3-1 win over Brentford, Arsenal have dropped points against Brighton, suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup and been knocked out of the FA Cup on penalties by Manchester United.

And ex-Arsenal defender Gallas has claimed his former side will be “frightened” heading into their clash with Spurs, who have also been struggling for form and needed extra-time to beat non-league Tamworth in the FA Cup on Sunday.

“They’re always special, special games, it’s a special derby,” Gallas told Prime Casino. “I can smell it right now. It’s going to be a big, big derby. Tottenham, their position is 13th. Unbelievable. Tottenham’s season has been a disaster, to be honest.

“Even if they won against Liverpool in the semi-final, in the League Cup, okay. We’ve seen it too many times, they can give you one good performance and in the next game, they are not there. They are not consistent. But against Arsenal, anything can happen because it’s a London derby.

“Arsenal, after losing to Manchester United, are a little bit fragile. If you ask me who is going to win, I don’t know. I would love to say Arsenal, because I said at the beginning of the season, Arsenal is going to win the league, so to win the league, they have to win against Tottenham.

“But after that defeat against Manchester United, it looks like they’re going to be frightened. The players will be tired after playing extra time against United, but that is not an excuse. I don’t want to hear any excuses about Arsenal’s performance. They have to beat Tottenham on Wednesday night.”

Gallas has also questioned whether Arsenal have enough “characters” in their squad, claiming they need to “get a little bit nasty”. He added: “When you look at the squad, tell me where are the characters? Who are the players with character? Maybe Declan Rice. He’s got character, but he’s not a guy who is going to shout.

“I never see any of the Arsenal players shouting at each other. The players are too nice. That is a big problem. I want to see Arsenal’s players challenging each other, get a little bit nasty. You want to help your teammates, and sometimes, shouting at people can be a way to get a response, it doesn’t always have to be a negative thing.”

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