Former Arsenal star, Emmanuel Petit has slammed three of their players following their victory against Chelsea at the Emirates on Tuesday.
He said that the likes of Gabriel, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ben White have dropped in their performances in the absence of William Saliba.
Saliba has missed the last six weeks after he suffered a back injury and appears no closer to recovering.
Arsenal’s defence has performed poorly in recent weeks following the Frenchman’s injury, letting in ten goals in their last four matches.
Petit says Gabriel, Zinchenko and White have all been culpable and says the defence have been mentally affected.
“I can see Gabriel doesn’t have the same confidence when he plays with Holding, he looks like a different defender,” Petit told Compare Bet.
“White and Zinchenko don’t attack enough when Saliba isn’t there. It affects them mentally and with their confidence.”
He added, “If you want to win titles I think it’s difficult for Holding to play every game as he’s been required recently.”
Mikel Arteta would be hoping that his defence improves ahead of their next game.
The Gunners would be faced with one of their biggest challenges of the season when they travel to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday having in mind that it was the Magpies that stopped them from qualifying for the Champions League last season
