Is William Gallas The Right Man To Lead Arsenal?

One of the defining images of Arsenal's ultimately fruitless 2007/2008 season was of William Gallas sitting petulantly on the floor after his side had conceded a late goal at Birmingham. It was the day that Eduardo's leg snapped which acted as a fitting, if perverse, metaphor for the brittleness of the north London team's resolve which soon disintegrated when chasing what would have been a stunning Premier League title.

Gallas' role as leader of the team is made harder by the ghost of Arsenal's past. Tony Adams. It is highly unlikely that the one-team man would have reacted in the same way in that 2-2 draw – the ex-England defender would have offered the crestfallen Gael Clichy a consoling shoulder, instead of a cold, Gallic one. And after Thierry Henry's tenure with the armband (where the Frenchman led by example through his football and not much else, which is no bad thing considering his undisputed class) this was the style of leadership Arsenal fans were expecting from Gallas.

However, there is no disputing the ex-Chelsea player's contribution to the Arsenal side. Very few defenders are as good at last-ditch goal-saving tackles, the heart-in-the-mouth kind. A penalty appeal or corner. Villain or hero. This is Gallas' thin red line, which he treads with regularity and nine times out of 10 saves his team by taking responsibility for the threadbare difference between success and failure. Headline writers must love the man: Heroic Gallas saves Arsenal or Cynical Gallas ruins Arsenal's day

He also weighs in with goals, and important ones in big games. His header against Chelsea last season at the Emirates which came from one of those seemingly rare things — a Petr Cech error. The last-minute toe poke against Kiev last week. These are the kind of goals that captains score and which inspire their troops. Even though both games were draws, they were resilient showings and Gallas stepped up when he needed too.

The real problem with having Gallas as captain is his partnership with Kolo Toure, which should be a solid, world-class partnership (and it is at times) except both defenders struggle with set-pieces and corners. They — despite commentators like Jim Beglin who think otherwise — aren't tall. Gallas is 5ft 11; Toure is 6ft; in this day that's not tall enough (as Peter Crouch has shown when playing against Arsenal) both need to be taller and this is why Arsene Wenger trusted Philippe Senderos (6ft 2) in that position. An extra two inches it would seem can make up for a variety of sins. Wenger himself has acknowledged it as a problem — why else would he try and incorporate all three defenders in the side, as he did at the end of last season? But the Alsatian seems loathed to splash out in the transfer market.

Ultimately, Gallas was made captain to give the team an extra bit of bite — the kind provided by the excellent Nicklas Bendtner at the weekend at Bolton. He has done this in his own inimitable way — he's no Patrick Vieira, but then who is? — and is also a man you can trust when the chips are down: he'd be someone to go "over the top" with in a trench in the First World War.

Every player deserves redemption and the scene of Gallas distraught on the Birmingham pitch needs to be juxtaposed to one which sees the 32-year-old jubilant surrounded by his young team-mates celebrating a major trophy.