If one believes what one reads then William Gallas is no longer Arsenal club captain, I can't say that I'm particularly disappointed if that is the case, one hardly gets the impression that Gallas has been an inspiring figure during his spell in charge. Certainly Gallas' recent words that spoke of events in the dressing room have made his position untenable, he broke the unwritten rule that this kind of stuff must stay behind closed doors. One just wonders how deliberate this was from Gallas, was he keen for an early return to France or was he just not thinking?
I'd rather not comment than insult Gallas, while his achievements as captain speak louder than words, these include alienating a large portion of the dressing room and at times not behaving in a manner fitting for an adult let alone a club captain. However the man has played well at times and should not be made a scapegoat for all our failings, after all there is a man called Arsene Wenger who made him captain in the first place. Was he really a sensible choice for this role? It could be argued that he could have been an Arsenal great, if he had been played alongside a taller commanding centre back and if he had not been handed the responsibility of captaincy for which he seemed so ill suited.
As I always thought if Gallas is no longer club captain, then one cannot see him staying at the club, leaving Arsene with some rather interesting problems in the centre back area. Gallas has not been a bad player for the club by any means, however he is definitely no commanding centre back His partnerships with Toure and Silvestre have left a lot to be desired at times, but Gallas could not be expected to be a type of player than he has never been before, he should have been paired with a more commanding and physically powerful partner as he was at Chelsea.
It is now time for the rest of the squad to stand up and be counted, this is no time for bickering, it is a time for solidarity. I hope this is the stepping stone for Johan Djourou to gets some games and develop into one of the finest centre backs in the world, Arsene has been hinting that the time is now for the young Swiss. Toure is out of tomorrow's game with a calf injury, meaning that it will surely be Silvestre partnering Djourou, while Cesc's suspension and Theo's injury should hopefully see maybe Ramsey and Wilshere get a start each, with Eboue at right back. However there are rumours that Hoyte will come in at right back with Eboue pushed into midfield. I'd also like to see Manuel made captain.
I hear you saying 'Why Manuel Almunia captain?'. Well, he's a good bloke, he's been a very consistent performer for the past couple of seasons, he's not too young, he's got a good view of things from goal and frankly who else would make a better skipper? I thought it was only a matter of time before the Gallas situation had to be resolved, and being optimistic, it's good that it's happened sooner rather than later, we can now rebuild and get on with without Billy. We need a popular captain, someone who can encourage and not alienate the young players, tomorrow against City is already looking like quite a big moment in our season. Come on you Gunners!
