Is William Gallas Is The Right Choice For Arsenal Captaincy?

William Gallas is an experienced and versatile player, with a big voice. Sounds like a perfect captain! But is he?

Think back to his Chelsea days, if of-course you can remember him. He was constantly over shadowed by the big names and personalities that no one really knew him. Nobody praised him but then nobody slated him. Although he was the most experienced player in the team he was still overlooked for captaincy because of John 'The Guvenor' Terry.

He was also almost always played in his least favourite positions at Chelsea when Jose Mourinho took charge, and in term fell out with the club he had been at for many years and had loved.

After the famous Ashley Cole tapping scandal between Arsenal and Chelsea. The out of favor William Gallas was traded along with £5 million so that Chelsea could bring Ashley Cole to Stamford Bridge.

At the time Arsenal had just sold Thierry Henry, their current captain to Barcelona. The other captain figure Sol Campbell had also just been released to join Portsmouth, and the only other player worthy of captaincy was Gilberto Silva. But Arsene Wenger felt other players were better suited as centre mid's in the first team rather than Gilberto. That left Kolo Toure who was for sure the fans choice for captaincy for that coming season, or second choice Cesc Fabregas. Who realistically was far too young to command a side such as Arsenal.

But Wenger had other ideas and to Toure's dissapointment, William Gallas was made captain. There was no explanation for this, and for the first part of the season it had seemed that it wasn't a bad choice.

Gallas had scored a few goals he looked dominant at the back and commanded the team well. Within no time Arsenal were surprisingly top of the league and nobody could complain.

That was of-course until the disastrous match away to Birmingham. Arsenal were looking dominant until something that should never happen to a sports player happened to Arsenal striker Eduardo. A horrific tackle caused one of the most sickening injuries the game has ever seen. To add to that, Birmingham scored and took the into half time with a 1-0 lead. Theo Walcott had replaced Eduardo and during the second half, he scored two amazing goals.

However during stoppage time Gael Clichy appeared to have brought down Stuart Parnaby in the box. Arsenal's captain William Gallas after the decision had walked deep into the other half of the pitch whilst the penalty was being taken. The penalty was converted and William Gallas kicked an advertisement board then sat down and cried.

Immediately after the penalty was converted the full time whistle was blown and the players left the pitch, except one. Gallas was still sitting on the grass with tears in his eyes, much to the Birmingham fans amusement.

A few players tried to comfort him but he didn't move. He sat there almost in protest until his manager Arsene Wenger came and walked him into the tunnel, with Gallas complaining the whole way.

Wenger later described Gallas reaction as an act of passion for his club. But it was more like a childish 'hissy fit'. Arsenal as a whole were affected by what they had seen with Eduardo. Fabregas vomited on the pitch because it was so horrific. But Gallas instead of taking defeat like a man, decided to throw a tantrum.

Personally in my opinion this was not the act of a great captain. Nobody would like to see what they saw that day and of-course nobody can blame Gallas for the defeat. But as a captain it is William Gallas' job to at least lead by example and stay strong and focused.

After that game Arsenal lost composure in all competitions and completed another season with no silverware. This ofcourse is not Gallas' fault. But on that day the captain had made a joke of himself no doubt about it.

Arsenal now five games into the 08/09 season have found themselves top of the league. There are no complaints about Gallas' captaincy so far. But I and I'm sure many other Arsenal fans are thinking what about the day it doesn't go well for Arsenal? Is Gallas the right man to turn the team around on the pitch? To rally his men and turn a potential loss into a great comeback? I personally don't think so.

When Gallas was first made captain, I felt just as let down as Kolo Toure did. How can a player that came from a major rival team take captaincy over Toure? A player that has been at the club for nearly seven years, and since joining showed that he is one of the best central defenders in the country maybe even the world. He is experienced and head strong.

What more can be asked for in a captain? He also has experience in captaining an Arsenal side! Surely he should of been favorite for captaincy way back at the beginning of the 07/08 season, after Thierry Henry left.

That said I have and always will have complete faith in Arsene Wenger's decisions. I am sure that i there was to be a repeat performance of his tantrum, the captains armband would be handed to someone man enough for the challenge.

-Lyle Shepherd