Opinion: Gallas replaced by Fabregas as Captain

William Gallas: French International and Captain of Arsenal was recently stripped of the captaincy. Below are my and other Arsenal fans opinions on the dropping of Gallas as captain.

When Gallas was first named captain I was really doubtful if he was up to the role. Gallas had just arrived on a transfer from rivals Chelsea. Everyone me included wondered why a player fresh from a rival club could instantly become captain. The only sensible reason that comes to mind is that he was older so more mature than his team mates and that Arsene Wenger had faith in William’s power as a leader.

Gallas cracked under the pressure of being captain going public with his thoughts after a few years with the role. It was something that no captain should do that is why it needs to be addressed.

There was a problem at halftime. The only thing that I could say at halftime was ‘Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at halftime.

“We have to understand that to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight. We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.

“We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors. There are teams who can do it well against us, and we have to be able to face up to these attacks.”

What Gallas said is perfectly fine in the dressing room as the team is young and lacks direction but the details shouldn’t have been released to the media or the public. Gallas should have realized that these comments could destroy the image of the club and himself.

Everyone gets frustrated at times but you have to control yourself especially if you are in the spotlight and captain.

The next comment is why he was kicked out of the team for the visit to the Eastland’s:

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.”

Captain is like being a boss you have to put up with the team whether you like it or not. Sometimes arguments occur when the team is playing poor or in patches you just have to deal with it.

It wouldn’t matter how good Gallas was/is as a player they have to be dropped instantly after those comments to give them a mental re-think.

Cesc Fabregas as captain puts a huge strain on the young player in his early 20s. As my favorite player I would have to say he hasn’t had the best of season so far lacking scoring depth but by all accounts still an extremely good midfield player.

He is under huge pressure as the new captain with the role possibly bringing the best or worst out of him. Cesc now has to play well as captain but also perform his duties as stated so bluntly by Gallas in the press.

If Wenger didn’t go for Cesc as Captain who would he choose the team is young and Cesc as proven over 2-3 seasons that he is a star another factor would be Cesc stated that he would want to move on to Spain but if Wenger places him as captain he shouldn’t leave and probably won’t want to leave.

This will all be forgotten in a few weeks or months if Arsenal gets on a roll but may hang around as the reason for a ‘dud’ season if they don’t improve.

Now other Arsenal fans views before the Champions League game against Kiev:

“Most Arsenal fans are disappointed with Gallas as captain since he came from Chelsea; his performances have been less than adequate.”

“There is big pressure on Fabregas a young man I hope the pressure isn’t too much for him but I really can’t see anyone else who would be up for it.” said a fan

Another fan said: “They are a young team and I am happy Fabregas is captain now they have to get on with the football.”

“Think we will move on Fabregas is a much better captain.”

“Good choice means we will keep him as there were talk of him going back to Barcalona, hopefully the captaincy will keep him at the club for a good 10 years.”

These fans really do sum up the feelings of most Arsenal fans in what they and I hope can be a trophy winning season.