William Gallas: Maybe He Is Worth Keeping...or Maybe He Isn't

William Gallas—where there's talent there's tantrum.

The former Arsenal captain started the season in fashion—whinging about teammates, caught smoking outside a night-club and then losing the Arsenal captaincy.

The French defender's future at Arsenal had looked bleak, but now, he appears to have pulled up his socks, opened a box of maturity, and thrown away his tantrum album and showed that he is still—on his day—one of the finest defenders in the world.

Signed from rivals Chelsea in 2006 as part of the Ashley Cole deal, Gallas appeared set to fill the gap left by Sol Campbell. The Frenchmen had a relatively fine season—bar a few rushes of blood to the head and the odd blemish. Then in '07-'08 Gallas was given the captaincy ahead of stalwarts, Gilberto Silva and Kolo Toure.

Though captaincy, at first, appeared the making of him, gradually his form dropped. His defending palpably declined as he appeared to lack the flair, power, and strength of old. Indeed, the only thing that seemed decent was his hair.

Following Gallas' very public display of petulance, Arsenal's form dipped dramatically and ultimately cost them any chance of a trophy—while eyebrows were raised over Gallas' captaincy and his role in Arsenal's defensive problems.

In 2008-2009, Gallas was dropped from the captaincy, and it was handed to midfield starlet Cesc Fabregas. Following this, there was much speculation that Gallas would leave either in January or in the summer.

However, far from finishing off Gallas, it appears to almost have been the making of him, as the French centre half's form has noticeably improved this season. He has scored some crucial goals, and his defending has been of the highest quality.

While it's true that Gallas could be traded for a younger, fitter defender, such as Johan Djourou and Harvard Nordtviet or the returning Phillipe Senderos, it appears unlikely that Gallas is ready to give up his place just yet.