Arsenal have 'everything' to win titles this season - but Owen Hargreaves questions if they are 'nasty' enough
Published 01/10/2025 at 21:01 GMT+1
Owen Hargreaves has hailed Arsenal's central defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba as a crucial reason that the club can lift silverware this season, as well as praising the depth throughout the squad. Arsenal signed eight players this summer, including attacking players Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke, and Hargreaves believes Mikel Arteta has all the tools to succeed.
Hargreaves sets challenge to Gabriel & Saliba - 'Sometimes you've got to be a bit nasty'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Owen Hargreaves has hailed Arsenal’s central defensive pairing as a crucial reason why the Gunners can lift silverware this season.
William Saliba and Gabriel have become one of the best defensive duos in European football, as shown by their progression to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals last season, as well as three consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League.
Arsenal also added further reinforcements to their defence this summer in the form of Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie, while the performances of Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber have also been impressive this season.
Hargreaves, a Champions League winner with both Bayern Munich and Manchester United, believes that with such defensive prowess, Arsenal have everything they need to conquer Europe and England this season.
"Technically, tactically, Saliba is one of the best. I still think Gabriel is the leader, I think he is the top one in there, but I think these guys are all developing at the same speed," said Hargreaves before Arsenal's UEFA Champions League league phase match with Olympiacos on TNT Sports.
"One thing I would say about the generation of Tony Adams and Martin [Keown], they were a bit nastier, these guys are all lovely lads and they are all top players, sometimes to win you’ve got to be a bit nasty and I think that is very important, sometimes playing nice football doesn’t always win, you’ve got to be nasty.
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Saliba outlines desire to 'win everything' after signing new Arsenal deal
Video credit: TNT Sports
"I think these guys have all the ingredients to be two of the best and I think with the goalkeeper as well, I think [David] Raya is a brilliant goalkeeper, they have got four really good full-backs, so they have everything."
Aside from defensive signings, Arsenal addressed other key areas of weakness last year, with Viktor Gyokeres, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke all joining to improve their attacking threat and provide genuine depth behind Bukayo Saka.
- 'We want everything' - Saliba reveals lofty Arsenal ambitions
- 'I learned a lot' - Arteta on Mendilibar influence ahead of reunion
Those additions have given Arsenal a competitive squad in every position, something Hargreaves believes is only going to help them get better this season.
"All the top teams, there's competition for places, so if you don't play well, you're not playing," said Hargreaves.
"[Martin] Odegaard was undroppable, Saka was undroppable, Kai [Havertz], if he was fit, he was going to play. All of a sudden, they have got these crazy options now, and basically, the guys who are going to play are the guys who are playing well. End of.
"If you produce the goods, you play. And I think that creates a super competitive environment, which you only get with competition."
One thing Hargreaves did notice with the Arsenal squad was the lack of experience in winning silverware.
Only injured forward Gabriel Jesus has experience of winning the Premier League from his time at Manchester City, and Hargreaves added: "Everybody is on the same level. They don’t have anybody who has won, not really. You look at teams historically and they’ve had generations of guys.
"Think back to that Man Utd team, you had [Ryan] Giggs, [Paul] Scholes, [Edwin] van der Sar, but then you had the youngsters Cristiano [Ronaldo], [Wayne] Rooney, [Carlos] Tevez.
"It might be the first time for most of them, sometimes I think maybe you need a guy who’s been there and done it. That’s maybe one thing Arsenal could have addressed in the window."
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