Gallas: We need a richer squad

Gunners star William Gallas thinks the club must add more experience to their squad if they are to challenge in all competitions next season.

He said: “What Arsenal needed to compete with Manchester United or Chelsea was a few experienced players.

“We have very good young ones — great players of the future — but they were given far too much responsibility throughout the season.

“At one stage, they were unable to keep up. You need a richer squad when you want to play on all fronts.

“Arsenal played only with their youngsters for most of the time and then there were injuries, notably Thierry Henry.”

When asked if his decision to join the club was the correct one, he replied: “I will be able to answer next year whether Arsenal match up to the new challenge I left Chelsea for.

“My season was too spoiled by injury.

“I will be at Arsenal next season. I want to stay another year to have a full one with this club.

“This has been a season of adaptation. I left Chelsea at the last minute. I had to find my bearings with new team-mates while driving three hours a day to train as I could not move house.

“I also had to get rid of World Cup fatigue. In the end, no one saw the great William Gallas. I wasn’t expecting that.

“I had everything to prove and could not do so. I was coming off a full season with quite a lot of stress and had only two weeks’ holiday.”