Gallas hints at Van Persie being "a disruptive influence"

Friday 21 November 2008

In a remarkable outburst Arsenal captain William Gallas has said there is "a disruptive influence" in the Arsenal squad.

The Frenchman seems to be aiming his remarks at Robin van Persie.

Gallas - talking to the BBC - insisted he was speaking out because "there are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated".

""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."

Gallas refused to mention any names, but he did limit the amount of candidates to three: "I'm 31 and the player concerned is six years younger than me."

The Arsenal players who fall into that bracket include Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Eboué and Bacary Sagna.

Yet Gallas' suggestion that the tête-à-tête had occurred during an attacking phase of play may be revealing and that it is Van Persie.

Gallas might have shot himself in the foot with his untimely outburst, as there has been a lot of criticism on his captaincy initially sparked by his bizarre and petulant sit-down protest at Birmingham City in February and strengthened by some irresponsible behavior off the pitch.

Gallas' lack of leadership qualities might even force Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to strip Gallas of the captaincy a it was expected to happen this summer already with Spaniard Cesc Fabregas being the main candidate to replace him.

Gallas also launched an attack on his young teammates, claiming they are "not brave enough in battle".

Arsenal have had some poor results in recent weeks and are now trailing leaders Liverpool and Chelsea by nine points after just thirteen matches.

"I have to win something this year," Gallas said.

"Arsenal has to win something. Another season without a trophy would be a kind of failure."