Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Captain Fabulous
Opinion: The future is looking up for Arsenal.
At last, Arsene Wenger has corrected a major mistake he made in 2007. It was in that year that he made William Gallas (a player who had been at the club for only one year) the club captain, replacing Thierry Henry. Given that there were better, more settled and experienced candidates – such as Koló Touré and Gilberto Silva available, this confounded many people. Also, Wenger clearly ignored the manner in which Gallas left Chelsea. Gallas had threatened to score own goals if he didn’t get his move to Arsenal, which just shows where Gallas’s interests lie – his personal motto is clearly “Look out for Number 1”.
For a few months at least, everything was rosy in Arsene’s garden. His team; made up of mostly young starlets developed by the club, had surged to the top of the league. They were playing scintillating football, led by the genius of Cesc Fabregas and Alexander Hleb in midfield along with the goals of Emmanuel Adebayor upfront. Then, one day in February, it all went wrong.
Striker Eduardo da Silva suffered a horrific leg break – an injury from which he still hasn’t recovered from; however Arsenal were coasting in the game with Birmingham City. Nicklas Bendtner even refused to set up Adebayor for a goal, even though it was a tap-in. A fight between the pair the week before, in a 5-1 defeat against Spurs in the League Cup Semi-Final had been named as the root of Bendtner’s unprofessionalism. Then, in the dying moments, the referee gave Birmingham a penalty, and the beginning of the end for Gallas begun. Admittedly, it wasn’t a penalty, but Gallas, quite frankly, flipped. He kicked the advertising boards and went into his own half and sat down with his back to the goal while the penalty; which James McFadden scored, was taken. At full time Gallas sat down on the pitch for about two minutes before manager Wenger called him to his feet.
Such impudence should have alerted Wenger to the fact that all was not well. But Wenger stuck with his man. Even when Gallas fell out of a nightclub smoking, Wenger stuck with him. Then Gallas let rip in a tirade, in which he said:
“We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors. There are teams who can do it well against us, and we have to be able to face up to these attacks. That is how they will forge their character, and how they will get experience. Even though they've played a certain number of matches, they're still young and still learning."
In fairness to Gallas, much of what he said was true. Arsenal have had a poor season, highlighted by defeats to Fulham, Hull City, Stoke City and Aston Villa. They have however beaten Man Utd and Chelsea this season. And, as usual, there has been a lack of physical strength, experience and backbone about this side. Also, the squad is in terrible need of additions; Wenger has let four midfielders go in the last 10 months, and bought only one. His refusal to buy experienced players, in a quest for the perfect football machine, is beginning to hurt Arsenal Football Club.
However, as a player, and especially as captain, one should keep these things in-house. Gallas paid the price; the captaincy has been taken off him, and he even played against Dynamo Kiev recently.
And, although he wouldn’t be my first choice, Fabregas is a good appointment as captain. He has always shown maturity beyond his years, and his undoubted talent will gain respect. His footballing brain, intelligence and modesty make him the ideal captain. As Bill Shankly said, “If they’re good enough, they’re old enough”. Arsenal won’t win the league, but with Gallas set to leave, they should improve in the next few months.
By: Ciaran Leinster
