Premier League - Gallas: Arsenal in civil war

Eurosport - Fri, 21 Nov 07:57:00 2008

Arsenal captain William Gallas has revealed serious disunity within the squad and said that the team are not brave enough to win the Premier League title.

2008-2009 Arsenal William Gallas - 0

In a frank interview Gallas took the rare step of going public with his frustration at a series of bust-ups within the Emirates Stadium dressing-room.

The Frenchman said that a team-mate had insulted him during a match and he did not want to take the blame for the constant friction at Arsenal.

"When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player ... complaining about him ... and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us," Gallas told AP.

"There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen.

"I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking it all (the blame). It's very frustrating," he said.

"I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me." The 25-year-olds in the Arsenal squad are Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Eboue, Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva, who has been out injured since February.

Another incident occurred during the recent 4-4 draw at home to North London rivals Tottenham, in which Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead in the dying minutes.

Gallas said that divisions in the squad could damage their quest for silverware.

"There was a problem at halftime. The only thing that I could say at halftime was 'Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.'

"We have to understand that to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight. We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.

"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."

He said that Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa last Saturday, a week after beating Manchester United, because they did not play as a team.

"Maybe, against Manchester, it was the whole team that fought for victory," Gallas said.

"But when you stop fighting together, there comes a time when the midfield will sink, the defenders, unfortunately, can also sink. That's what happened against Villa."

Gallas's captaincy has come under fire since his furious 'sit-in' on the pitch at St. Andrew's after last season's 2-2 draw against Birmingham City.

His latest comments will embarrass manager Arsene Wenger and do little to endear him to his team-mates, who may be surprised that their skipper has chosen to share dressing-room secrets while attempting - by his own admission - to deflect blame away from himself.

Alex Chick / Eurosport

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  1. NA WA O, SO GALLAS HAS BEING DEMOTED FOR SPEAKING THE­ TRUTH TO HIS TEAM MATE,BUT WAIT O WHY IS IT THAT PEOPLE­ OF THE WORLD DONT LIKE TO HEAR TRUE WORDS, NO PROBLEM­ GALLAS LIFE GOES ON OK. FROM JOHN O, LAGOS NIGERIA.

    From OKWO, on Mon 24 Nov 2:46PM

  2. I think as an Arsenal fan most Arsenals fans will agree­ with me when I say that over the past 3-4 years the so­ called youngsters in the first team have lost their­ purpose. I think Arsen needs to be strong and very firm­ with them. Arsen should take several pages out of Alex­ Ferguson’s AND Fabio’s football management book in­ order to manage these ‘youngsters’ that Arsen has­ trusted Arsenal’s future with. We need strict­ discipline and true passion. Yes, they are certainly­ over paid and under performing. Some of our players­ seem to be more worried about what colour boots to wear­ or which hairstyle to have before a game than to train­ harder and just perform better for the club. Whenever I­ see one of our players miss an open goal from 6 yards­ or less and ‘smile’ about it, I worry. I want to see­ screaming, beating the turf, and true regret, then I­ know they actually care. We need more players of proven­ experience. It’s was wrong to rely on youth alone. The­ way things are I would be happy to see Thierry H come­ back. The youth policy had its chance for the last 4­ years it didn’t work. We got nothing, while team like­ Portsmouth won the FA Cup. NOT GOOD..! Mr Wenger we­ need a change of direction and Quick.!!

    From Alfonz B, on Mon 24 Nov 2:24PM

  3. Gallas is right to tell the truth, he's one of the­ best captain ever. I thing this is all van persies­ fault, he's the one who swore at gallas

    From ahmerminaan, on Sat 22 Nov 12:02PM

  4. please please please stop defendin gallas i am a gooner­ and i watch him shout at all the players and then sit­ and cry in the center circle at st andrews and i have­ said it since then he is nt stable enuf to be captin

    From lilnuta90, on Fri 21 Nov 11:54PM

  5. arsenal 4 ever

    From sam2lloyd, on Fri 21 Nov 6:14PM

  6. all you morons - Gallas is one of the BEST player there­ EVER was in defence! Secondly he has all the right to­ say the truth. Thirdly it does not take genius to see­ that Persie is ARROGANT SELFISH PRIG!! And lastly all­ you are @#$% about French players/coach - where would­ you be without them?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! T.H. and Vieira­ were the absolute back-bones of your glorious era,­ under whom? oh yeah Wenger - so get real losers!

    From Mirek P, on Fri 21 Nov 5:39PM

  7. Ahahahaha Rick not likely, and we'll still finish­ above you and still get a european spot. :)

    From Tom, on Fri 21 Nov 11:14AM

  8. This is the worst possible thing a captain of a­ football club can do at such a vital time. another loss­ this weekend no doubt and it is down to players like­ this. Mr Wenger Arsenal FC is becoming a laughing stock­ and the buck must stop at your door you are solely­ responsible for putting the team together and surely an­ aspect must be how they will respond to each other on­ and off the pitch!!

    From maguirejj1, on Fri 21 Nov 9:49AM

  9. Sack the lot of em bunch of over paid idiots! It is­ obvious to any one who watches arsenal every week that­ they are 11 individuals however the blame should not be­ on the players it should be on the manager its his­ team. Do they really care whether Arsenal win lose or­ draw? after what I have seen this season I don't­ really think so. Gallas should not be in a position to­ make these comments because he should never have come­ to the club!

    From maguirejj1, on Fri 21 Nov 9:43AM

  10. I think Captain Gallas should resolve everything with­ Arsene Wenger and the players before meeting Chelsea.I­ want Arsenal to win Chelsea then after that the problem­ can continue when Arsenal is meeting Liverpool.

    From Michael, on Fri 21 Nov 8:57AM

  11. Vitorlam, totally agree and if Gallas remains captian­ now i would be very disheartened and gutted by Wenger.­ This has got to be the last time. I dont blame Wenger­ for giving him a second chance, everyone deserves a­ second chance and after St Anderws last season i­ believe this was his second chance. but now is the time­ to change things. Gallas has blame on his shoulders but­ fro being negative, Wenger has blame on his shoulders­ but only for being positive and offering a second­ chance.

    From Tom, on Fri 21 Nov 8:42AM

  12. Thank you Gallas for leaving Chelsea, how nice it was­ to see the back of you . I hope you Gooners now see­ what a ROYAL pain in the backside he really is, a world­ class moaner.

    From gwestell2006, on Fri 21 Nov 8:27AM

  13. If you know a thing or two about man management, then­ you know it is not Gallas to be blame~ he is only on­ level term with his piers which means there is always­ limited things that he can influence~ the problwm is­ simply out of his control and the responsibility lays­ on the manager~ he should have policies to deal with­ players not listening to the captain or for causing­ conflict~ it's hierarchy and power that impower­ someone over the other~ but when there is no policies~­ there will only be very limited things Gallas can do~­ and it's normal to be frustrated~

    Just imagine­ you a manager at work and you have a lazy colleague­ under you who does nothing at work, if there is no­ policy that allow you to give warning to this­ particular employee and you get the blame when things­ don't work out~ it's just normal that you­ become frustrated and feel betrayed~~

    So the problem­ lays with Asrene Wenger~ not Gallas.

    From Vitor, on Fri 21 Nov 8:21AM

  14. Gallas has always been a thorn, if you know Arsenal you­ know he's not been a true Gooner. He was a very­ smart deal for Cole, he came in an provided us with­ what we needed, but then as with chelsea got petulant­ and stuck out like a sore thumb and a sore individual.­ I appreciate his comments and i dont blame him for­ speaking out but i have never thought he was the man to­ lead us.

    From Tom, on Fri 21 Nov 7:54AM

  15. you know some times i think you guys can't either­ read or got no brains at all i don't blame gallas­ for coming out to speak, if i was the one i would do­ the same thing, why can't we blame van for not­ scoring or cece for not playing up to the standard that­ we know, or blame wenger for not buying the players he­ should buy or even the managment for not having the­ guts to stand up to wenger, gallas is not the only­ defender at the back he is not the middle that­ can't hold a game, the fault is the whole team all­ of them none of them apart from walcot is playing with­ fire in there belly, so pls leave gallas alone and lets­ find a way to solve this

    From Solomon, on Fri 21 Nov 7:45AM

  16. whats the point in making fabregas captain he's­ going to @#$% off in the summer !!!!!!!!

    From dbeattie, on Fri 21 Nov 7:42AM

  17. 1) Anyone saying Wenger is rubbish dont have a clue.­ Ask any other manager in top flight football and­ they'll name Wenger in the top 5. 2) Wengers choice­ of captain has something to be desired, Henry was a bad­ choice of captain (made so to keep him at the squad)­ and Gallas has always had a petulant side 3) I­ appreciate him for his honest comments, and i think he­ has alot to offer us, but not when he acts like a child

    From Tom, on Fri 21 Nov 7:32AM

  18. After the misunderstanding comes their understanding to­ victory.

    From livingking, on Fri 21 Nov 7:08AM

  19. Gallas what a drama queen he is but more importantly­ why hasnt Wenger noticed . I love the I wont name­ anyone but I will give his age line . Arsenal are you­ Spurs in disguise lmao

    From Glenn T, on Fri 21 Nov 6:38AM

  20. It is time for Gallas to be shown the door.Arsenal have­ a ready made captain in Cesc Fabregas who always busts­ his guts for the team and leads by example. A young­ team can do with a young respected skipper who can lead­ them for the next 10 years.

    From arthurvlahos, on Fri 21 Nov 6:25AM
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