Gallas: Arsenal dressing room at war

**Mack3m** · 11-20-2008, 02:30 PM

Arsenal captain William Gallas has revealed serious disunity within the squad and said that the team are not brave enough to win the Premier League title.

In a frank interview Gallas took the rare step of going public with his frustration at a series of bust-ups within the Emirates Stadium dressing-room.

The Frenchman said that a team-mate had insulted him during a match and he did not want to take the blame for the constant friction at Arsenal.

"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," Gallas told AP.

"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," he said.

"I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me." The 25-year-olds in the Arsenal squad are Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Eboue, Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva, who has been out injured since February.

Another incident occurred during the recent 4-4 draw at home to North London rivals Tottenham, in which Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead in the dying minutes.

Gallas said that divisions in the squad could damage their quest for silverware.

"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 half-time.'

"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."

He said that Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa last Saturday, a week after beating Manchester United, because they did not play as a team.

"Maybe, against Manchester, it was the whole team that fought for victory," Gallas said.

"But when you stop fighting together, there comes a time when the midfield will sink, the defenders, unfortunately, can also sink. That's what happened against Villa."

Gallas's captaincy has come under fire since his furious 'sit-in' on the pitch at St. Andrew's after last season's 2-2 draw against Birmingham City.

His latest comments will embarrass manager Arsene Wenger and do little to endear him to his team-mates, who may be surprised that their skipper has chosen to share dressing-room secrets while attempting - by his own admission - to deflect blame away from himself.

**montego** · 11-20-2008, 04:04 PM

Gallas's will have to get his act together, he should show an example to the rest...

**bigjie** · 11-20-2008, 07:09 PM

What an example this clown is !

What happens in the dressing room stays there.

If i was his manager , he would be the first one out the door.

**Mack3m** · 11-20-2008, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigjie

What an example this clown is !

What happens in the dressing room stays there.

If i was his manager , he would be the first one out the door.

I agree with you mate, I read about another player from a different team saying that the half time talk was what was needed to get his team going, but what was said remains in there.

**123123** · 11-20-2008, 09:34 PM

Gallas need to keep it shut, and the thing is he can't.

ah well, seeing arsenal fall to pieces looks good from Anfield

**chris7145** · 11-20-2008, 09:37 PM

Premier league footballers have got too much power these days, it's time the FA did more to support the team by giving them back the powers they used to have.

**k1ko** · 11-21-2008, 10:33 AM

Wasn't he a captain?

**billyboy** · 11-21-2008, 12:30 PM

Its about time Wenger relieved him of the captain's armband as a minimum as this is not the first time he has said something or done something out of place

11-20-2008, 02:30 PM	#1
Mack3m Nov 2007 Sunderland Age: 47 5,778 posts Credits: 139,020,089 Items	Gallas: Arsenal dressing room at war Arsenal captain William Gallas has revealed serious disunity within the squad and said that the team are not brave enough to win the Premier League title. In a frank interview Gallas took the rare step of going public with his frustration at a series of bust-ups within the Emirates Stadium dressing-room. The Frenchman said that a team-mate had insulted him during a match and he did not want to take the blame for the constant friction at Arsenal. "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," Gallas told AP. "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," he said. "I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me." The 25-year-olds in the Arsenal squad are Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Eboue, Bacary Sagna and Eduardo da Silva, who has been out injured since February. Another incident occurred during the recent 4-4 draw at home to North London rivals Tottenham, in which Arsenal surrendered a two-goal lead in the dying minutes. Gallas said that divisions in the squad could damage their quest for silverware. "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 half-time.' "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." He said that Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Aston Villa last Saturday, a week after beating Manchester United, because they did not play as a team. "Maybe, against Manchester, it was the whole team that fought for victory," Gallas said. "But when you stop fighting together, there comes a time when the midfield will sink, the defenders, unfortunately, can also sink. That's what happened against Villa." Gallas's captaincy has come under fire since his furious 'sit-in' on the pitch at St. Andrew's after last season's 2-2 draw against Birmingham City. His latest comments will embarrass manager Arsene Wenger and do little to endear him to his team-mates, who may be surprised that their skipper has chosen to share dressing-room secrets while attempting - by his own admission - to deflect blame away from himself. __________________

11-20-2008, 04:04 PM	#2
montego Dec 2007 linwood 9,860 posts Credits: 5,773,999 Items	Gallas's will have to get his act together, he should show an example to the rest... __________________

11-20-2008, 07:09 PM	#3
bigjie stirring the pot ........ Nov 2007 at the bar Age: 42 7,856 posts Credits: 11,334,181 Items	What an example this clown is ! What happens in the dressing room stays there. If i was his manager , he would be the first one out the door. __________________ CLICK THIS ON HOW TO GET FREE V.I.P .. NO JOKE !! Better to die on your feet than live forever on your knees CLICK HERE TO BE THE TOP TIPSTER ON THE FORUM !

11-20-2008, 09:34 PM	#5
123123 Nov 2008 Age: 19 33 posts Credits: 5,492	Gallas need to keep it shut, and the thing is he can't. ah well, seeing arsenal fall to pieces looks good from Anfield

11-20-2008, 09:37 PM	#6
chris7145 Nov 2008 21 posts Credits: 10,596	Premier league footballers have got too much power these days, it's time the FA did more to support the team by giving them back the powers they used to have.

11-21-2008, 10:33 AM	#7
k1ko Nov 2008 21 posts Credits: 5,574	Wasn't he a captain?

11-21-2008, 12:30 PM	#8
billyboy Sep 2008 Staffordshire 9,039 posts Credits: 1,018,191 Items	Its about time Wenger relieved him of the captain's armband as a minimum as this is not the first time he has said something or done something out of place