Is William Gallas the Inheritor of an Impossible Mission at Arsenal?

I have been asked by the World Football Co-Community Leader, Salaar Shamsi, to write an article on the—widely debated of late—theme about the captaincy of William Gallas at Arsenal.

Many questions have been raised since he took the armband in 2007. William Gallas has been the reason for countless debates amongst Arsenal supporters and many others whether he is the right choice to captain Arsenal.

Well, let’s analyze the facts that are at hand and see if he is the one.

Firstly, it would be good to know what qualities are needed to be a capable leader. The combination of all of the following qualities would make a good leader and captain of a team.

One of the most important qualities of a leader who can captain a sports team is the ability to take the responsibility not only for his own actions but also for the actions of the team. A good leader is willing to take responsibility for the failure of his team. A man who escapes from this responsibility can not be a good captain.

Undoubtedly, William Gallas has recently improved as a captain. After the game with Dynamo Kiev, he stated in an interview that he was not happy for scoring the equalizing goal.

Contrary to the thing he has done, he answered that he was disappointed that the team failed to take all the points. This is a genuine indication that Gallas has burdened himself with a lot more responsibility than people think.

An equally important quality for a leader on the field as the ability to carry responsibility on your shoulders, is to be able to act as an example to your team-mates. Experience can strongly emphasize the effect of this quality even more.

Once again it is something William Gallas does not lack. Even Arsene Wenger has seen it. He has chosen him for captain of Arsenal for a second year running. It may be so due to the fact that he has seen in Gallas an unwavering strength of character, which blended with some good communication skills, could enormously inspire the younger players at Arsenal.

We have seen him score crucial goals on numerous occasions when even the Arsenal attackers have failed to do so. At the age of 30, it would be madness to say that he does not have the needed experience to know what to do in difficult situations.

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