RSSPlease welcome William Gallas’ Arsenal
THAT tannoy announcement is going to take a fair bit of getting used to, isn’t it?
I’ll move onto Gallas shortly. But what of Gilberto?
I don’t think he is about to be sold. But I do think the question of how long he will be around for entered Arsene’s head. His contribution last season was patently obvious - leadership, goals and performances far improved on the year before.
And yet his partnership with Cesc does not really click. Sure, it works. But does it have the dynamism, the energy and the strength of the great title winnings combos? I think not.
Irrespective of form, playing style or talent, age alone dictates that if one of them has to make way at some point, it will be Gilberto.
It’s also worth casting your mind back to last March when Arsene toyed briefly with Kolo Toure at right-back and Gilberto at centre-back. Given the availability of Johan Djourou at the time, they were unforced changes that suggested Arsene had real change on his mind. We’ve already seen it happen at right-back, albeit with Sagna rather than Toure replacing Eboue.
Could there be something similar planned for midfield?
On Gallas’ appointment, I’m hardly cartwheeling.
But equally, it’s worth remembering Arsene probably sees most (if not all) we see of Gallas and a hell of a lot more too. He also knows the side better than any of us. But still, for a man who has previously spoken of the importance of tradition at a club such as Arsenal, Gallas wearing the armband hardly strikes you as an obvious step.
I well understand why some people will be far less happy than me with the choice. But I still say everyone has to give it a chance. If it fails, then complain.
There should be a season preview up before the Fulham game, which I will be at and should provide a match report and playa ratings on by Monday at the latest.
One final thought for those who thought Gallas spoke a lot previously: he’s got two pages in the programme to fill every week now.
10 August 2007 at 1:06 am
First uhm…playa?
I really don’t know what to think about the appointment of Gallas. For me, he just hasn’t quite washed the blue off yet.
But who knows, maybe he’ll surprise us and actually step up the team’s performance, and his own.
10 August 2007 at 1:07 am
Re: Gallas. I’m not against him being captain…I just didnt’ think Wenger would hand it to him. But I glad to hear him say how the ‘kids’ had grown balls and were not going to be kicked around the park. And if Gallas is the person who can help the kids develop a mean/hard attitude then great. He can’t be worst the Henry. Henry was a role model…NOT a captain.
10 August 2007 at 1:10 am
I see his appointment of Gallas as captain as a sign that Arsene is serious about winning things.
10 August 2007 at 1:28 am
Re: Gilberto. I’d like to see him have a diminished role. The players who, for me, are obvious choices for the first 11 are Cesc, RVP, Kolo, and Gallas. The fullbacks, Sagna and Clichy, look like they could join that list. In a perfect world, Diaby would step up and cement a starting place with Cesc. I have big hopes for Diaby to become a consistent scoring, hard-tackling force of nature.
10 August 2007 at 1:28 am
He did say that Gilberto would perform the role of Club Captain, along with Jens. Four captains are better than one I suppose but Willy really has to step up. If Kolo, Jens and Gilberto have bad games, they have built up credit through years of service. Gallas has yet to do so and as captain he must be consistent
10 August 2007 at 1:42 am
i think gallas is a tough nut, from the way he fought mourinho after being ill treated at chelsea
10 August 2007 at 2:09 am
There’s something about this appointment that just seems right. There’s no doubt that Gilberto did a good job but as previously mentioned he will be gradually faded out of midfield in next year or so. Toure was the other choice but you just get the feeling he is more of a captain behind the scenes. The bubbling, positive man who gets behind the youngsters type of guy. As for Gallas - I have always had great respect for him. He is a positive man and real winner and has the intelligence and temperament to do a good job. For me, a good decision.
10 August 2007 at 2:47 am
Well it does make sense, as Diaby and Denilson grow older they will oust Gilberto from the starting eleven. I think Gallas is 30? He has a good 3-4 years in him yet by which time our captain will probably be Cesc or Kolo. Though i think Wenger needs to add a winger in the squad and time is running out.
P.S. I hate Myles Palmer, the cunt tries to make himself look important by talking absolute bollocks on his website i.e. signing immiment…well mate im still fucking waiting and it ain’t happened! Please though do not tell us so you won’t jeapordise the deal…CUNT! Rant over!
10 August 2007 at 2:55 am
as long as he sticks up for his own team mates unlike thenry(against westspam /sherringham)vs cesc then i will be happy, seriously the man is a winner and says what has to be said..anyone doubting him is a fool/johnny come lately..either him or gilberto would of done for me,,liked gilberto telling dogbra to shut up and if we were so crap, why they couldn’t beat us! unlike mr henry who would just of said nothing and been up dogbreaths a**e..bring back the seige mentallity and everyone writing us off! thats what we want to hear! come on wenger remind them of this before every game!, stick up the spuds comments of us being finished etc etc , reminds me of the 80’s again alaa 87…
10 August 2007 at 3:11 am
I have said it before - was Gilberto really such a good captain last season or was it simply an improvement on the very poor leadership skills of Henry? He did well but compared to Henry I don’t think it was very difficult.
I felt Gilberto’s role would change this year. I think Diaby will be given more responsibility especially for home matches. Perhaps the rumours surrounding Diarra are not so far fetched?
Btw, One_touch_genius, apparently Myles hasn’t said anymore about the imminent signings because he hasn’t had a phone for the past week and could n’t receive any news….Make of that what you will.
10 August 2007 at 3:28 am
Com on, give him a chance.
10 August 2007 at 3:54 am
Gallas will not be around any longer than Gilberto. Or may be Arsene will give Diaby more time this season.
Myles is a manu supporter…
10 August 2007 at 4:24 am
yes one_touch,
i am a cunt and a man utd supporter.
i talk bullshit to wind you arsenal fans up.
i have no idea or inside knowledge on anything to do with football.
basically i’m a sad geek who trails the websites looking for gossip then try to portray as my own!
with a name like myles what do you expect.
10 August 2007 at 4:30 am
I also found it strange that Gallas was made captain given his grumblings and near disloyalty towards the team. I think that Arsene could be trying to harness that whining and turn it into something positive by giving him the responsibility. He can no longer complain now, because he is responsible. Very interesting. I hope it works out.
As for Myles Palmer, if you don’t like what he says, shouldn’t you just stop reading his blog…or argue against it. No need to insult the guy.
10 August 2007 at 5:06 am
I think what I’m most looking forward this year to is seeing if diaby and cesc can work together in the midfield. they both like to get forward. will they only play if we have a true defensive midfielder in there as well as a 5-man mid-field?
thank god the season’s starting.
10 August 2007 at 5:35 am
i think this may be one of arsene’s great ideas.
gallas likes to be made to feel important, and his performances may improve. gilberto doesn’t seem to be so egoistic as to take this to heart
10 August 2007 at 6:15 am
Agree with vicgooner. Like the vast majority of everyone else, I haven’t liked Gallas. He gives the impression of being on the rebound and only out for himself — not a true part of the club at all. And no one thinks he has lived up to his rep in defense.
But the more that I think about it, who else in the club has the essential combination of experience and grit?
No, Gallas is not any part of Arsenal tradition, but that may be the most important point. We have got pretty in bags. What we need is teeth. Some push and shove. The single best guy in the squad for that is William Gallas.
Making Willy captain not only will give a talented player the spark to step up and be part of this team, but even more importantly shows everybody that we have a completely new attitude. Gallas’ Arsenal is meant to be a hard-headed team intent on kicking in the doors, not charming our opponents to death.
This is a very clear statement by Arsene that he is not bothered by Gallas’ actions or attitudes in the past, only what can be in the future. It’s not about tradition or who is what age. It is just about winning.
10 August 2007 at 8:27 am
With Gallas skippering, I take us to beat Chelski home and away this season. :)
10 August 2007 at 8:55 am
When PSV scored their goal at Emirates near the end of our CL match, all the Arsenal players put their hands on their hips and dropped their heads. One player ran back into the net, grabbed the ball, ran up the pitch while shouting at everyone. That player was Gallas. That is leadership.
10 August 2007 at 9:21 am
Gallas will make a good captain, especially for our young team.
I feel bad for Gil, because he was a terriffic captain whenever he was asked to do the job.
But we need a captain, who’ll run all the way from the back to tell cunts like Savage and Neville to F*ck off and keep their studs to themselves.
10 August 2007 at 10:03 am
God, I can’t wait for the season to start. Diaby could be a great foil for Cesc in the middle, and RVP fit and able to play every match without tripping over Henry…Come on Sunday!
10 August 2007 at 10:13 am
Gallas is temperary captain untill Arsenal Re-sign The Dickov.
Return of the king
10 August 2007 at 12:51 pm
I don’t know why people are attacking Myles for expressing his personal views. I like Myles and search for his articles on his blog everyday; his writings are top. Well, I’m against Myles for promoting that yanky Kroenke but apart from that Myles is Arsenal thru and thru. He’s a powerful writer and his articles are always well researched. I love Myles. Le Boss did the right thing for appointing Gallas, he’s tough, has grit and he’s the guy we need to lead the youngsters to glory. Gilberto and Toure? They’re nice Arsenals but we need tougher leaders now to push the boys and Gallas is the deal.
10 August 2007 at 1:24 pm
Remember the comment to the effect
Henry is worth 10mil as a winger but he is worth 500000 as a striker.
Classic Myles
I read Myles opinion and I think he is a fan but I certainly don’t agree with most of what he says.
10 August 2007 at 2:51 pm
against:
gallas wtf wat has he done 2 deserve da captain armband,apart from get injured, moan ,moan, da team 2 young, buy this buy that, i will have to think about my future. u no wat, first prove 2 me and da arse faithfull u r good enough.
for:
experience exprience or did i mention experience
my view
anyway on a ligther note arsen knows best
10 August 2007 at 4:56 pm
Maybe it has something to do with that missing diamond of Gallas’s that had Wenger on all fours on the training pitch in Austria?
The reality is that Gilberto will not play much this season. He still has plenty of skill, but lacks the mobility he once had and slows down our counterattack. If you watched the Copa America, Brazil played surprisingly similar to Arsenal through the groups, wasting chances, letting the opposition score first, etc and being sort of lacklustre and without fire.
Bert helped them pick up the tempo in the Semi-Final. But he was suspended for the final and what you saw in the Final was a much more dominant Brazil team that took charge of a match early and with energy.
Plus, missing the first part of the season changes things as well. This is Lehmann’s last season so it would not make sense to give him the armband, especially when he is likely to see the bench more with Almunia getting more PL and FA Cup starts and Fabianski playing the Carling Cup.
So then the decision comes down to either Kolo or Billy. Now Kolo is a obviously deserving, but he is a bit quiet and more a leadership by example fellow. Plus, if he gives it to Kolo, who is 7 years younger than Billy, how would Billy react? Both Kolo and Bert will not suffer massive ego trauma without the armband, like Billy would. Billy wants and for some reasons desperately needs to feel that he is the leader, so may as well give it to him. Because he would cause a scene if any other scenario were proffered.
But it does make me sick, after he spent last season slagging off everything and everyone at the club including the board, Wenger, the team physio, our “youngsters” (which seems to mean every player other than himself), our transfer policy, etc. Billy might have forgotten about all that, it might be water under the bridge for him. But it never will be for me.
I hate his guts and hope the curse of the armband strikes him and he slags off next summer for Inter Milan or something.
10 August 2007 at 5:22 pm
Bubba, don’t say that! He is a genius on the pitch, even though is a bit unbearable of it. Hope for redemption and many years of success! Remember that Roy Keane was a real asshole too, but it worked.
10 August 2007 at 5:37 pm
it was a surpriced when i heard that Gallas was named our captain,though i will prefer Gilberto or Toure they are committed players to our team also,but what we need now a captain with aggresiveness,that doesn’t want to lose,such captain is Will Gallas.Even Arsenal legend Thierry Henry wasn’t aggresive during his career as a captain in Arsenal.
i personally prefer Gallas,it suppose to be in hierachy leadership,come first come serve.
11 August 2007 at 1:42 am
i know we heard so many things about gallas, since he well… uhm talks alot in the papers and all. however, i have a reason to believe that gallas is indeed quite a popular figure in the dressing room, especially among the young gunners. “kolo shouts at defenders when they make mistake, but gallas teaches them…” so says Hoyte :) you might not gonna get that quote from anywhere, coz it’s aint printed, just a conversation between friends..
11 August 2007 at 1:36 pm
No more signings. So much for Myles Palmer’s inside knowledge.
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