William Gallas Reads the Riot Act to His Arsenal Teammates

William Gallas has launched yet another withering attack on his Arsenal colleagues, this time while away on international duty with France.

The 31-year-old central defender has been dismayed by the poor performances and lack of team spirit amongst his teammates this season. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, Gallas said:

"We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us. We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors."

"Against Tottenham, there was a problem at half-time. The only thing I could say to them was that we resolve these problems after the match, not in the break.

“There are things that can’t be said and can’t be tolerated.”

Gallas—who infamously sat on the St. Andrews pitch in a public display of disaffection after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Birmingham last season—believes that he ends up being the scapegoat for a lot of the team’s criticism, and it is unfair:

“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, 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. I’m 31, the player is six years younger than me.”

If Gallas’ maths is correct, then either Robin van Persie or Bacary Sagna is the villain of the Frenchman’s piece. Whether attacking the two players publicly is the right way of going about things, however, is another matter.

The complaint may be valid—but will either man appreciate and respond positively to such a public attack on their character?

The Frenchman—whose country endured a 0-0 draw with Uruguay in midweek—also believes he might know the key reason behind his teammates’ lack of ambition:

[Today’s big contracts] make the difference, perhaps. You can rest on your laurels, that’s for sure,” he said.

It is difficult to have sympathy with Gallas’ position, however. If there is a serious problem with morale within the Arsenal camp—which there appears to be—then of course the former Chelsea man is right to attempt address it. But is the media, particular the foreign media, the best way of going about it?

It certainly doesn’t appear so, especially considering Gallas also suggested that manager Arsene Wenger doesn’t seem to care about the club’s form, or if he does he “hides it well”.

As a captain, Gallas is meant to lead by example. Criticising the troops he is meant to be inspiring is surely more likely to create mutiny than respect—especially as Gallas seemed to reveal that his outburst was motivated by a selfish desire for personal success:

“I have to win something this year. I have to win something, It’s four or five years since Arsenal won anything...and that’s not good.“

Never one to curb his enthusiasm and emotions, Gallas has once again upset the applecart.

But, having hardly been the most consistent Gunners performer this season, will this latest outburst finally provoke a reaction?

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