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Premier League: Gallas set to lose Arsenal captaincy after being dropped for trip to Manchester City

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 15 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/99961?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Arsenal+drop+outspoken+Gallas+for+trip+to+Manchester+Citych=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Arsenal+FC+%28Football%29%2CFrance+%28Football+team%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Football+World+Cup%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CPremier+Leaguec6=David+Hytnerc7=2008_11_21c8=1122123c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Arsenalc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FArsenal" width="1" height="1" //divpstrong/strongstrong/pp/strongWilliam Gallas' hold on the Arsenal captaincy appeared to be over this evening and his very future at the club in jeopardy after he did not travel with the rest of the squad to the north-west for today's Premier League fixture against Manchester City./ppThe controversial Frenchman had followed his attack on an unnamed team-mate on Wednesday â€” that player is known to be Robin van Persie â€” with further outspoken comments about another of them yesterday./ppOnce again he did not name the player, identifying him only as "S" and saying that he played in midfield, but it is understood that he was referring to Samir Nasri, his France team-mate who joined Arsenal from Marseille in the summer. In his newly released autobiography, he criticised him for his "insolence"./ppArsène Wenger, the manager, was deeply concerned by Gallas' comments and had given serious thought to stripping him of the captaincy. He informed Gallas of his intention and the explosive result was that Gallas stayed behind in London as his team headed to Manchester./ppOn Wednesday, Gallas had spoken of the dressing-room being disrupted by one player who "insults us", an attack on Van Persie, while he also said that his young Arsenal team-mates were "not brave enough in battle", that there had been a row at half-time during the recent 4-4 home draw with Tottenham Hotspur and that the reason he was speaking out was because "there are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated"./ppWenger has defended his outspoken and emotional captain, whose methods have been under scrutiny since his bizarre sit-in protest at Birmingham City last February. Yet he has been pushed too far by Gallas and acted for the sake of dressing-room unity. He will be without one alternative captain at Eastlands as Cesc Fábregas is suspended and most likely another â€” Kolo Touré is described as a "major doubt" after he injured his calf in midweek. The goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is expected to wear the armband./ppWenger will publicly address the subject of Gallas after the game and in the meantime, he simply wants his players to pull together and do their talking on the pitch. Despite four Premier League defeats already this season, he believes that they have the mental strength and ability to rouse themselves./ppGallas was the victim of unfortunate timing as much as anything else with his latest comments from his book, which was released yesterday. His row with Nasri took place in the heat of the moment during France's failed Euro 2008 campaign and the pair promptly made their peace. What Gallas said to his biographer some months ago about the flashpoint, however, is insightful about his problems with the new generation of young players./ppHe said they "seem cheeky â€” they think they know everything but they know nothing". He added: "I too was 20 years old once. I would never have allowed myself to speak in such a way to a player older than me. We respected the veterans. We shut our mouths."/ppGallas said that he was stunned when the young player he argued with took Thierry Henry's seat on the France team bus. He described the young player as "insolent" and said that he finally moved. Gallas had scolded the player in training for not calling out when he passed the ball, and he gave a blow-by-blow description of the heated conversation that followed./pp"Are you speaking to me? Who do you take yourself for? You're only 20 ... I am not your friend," Gallas said./pp"I'm not your friend either," the player responded. "Straight away, I see red," added the 31-year-old./ppGallas' passionate nature has been held up as a strength but the generation gap between him and Arsenal's young tyros has contributed to his fall from grace./ppArsenal, meanwhile, will pursue the Football Association for compensation over the shoulder injury Theo Walcott sustained while on England duty this week, which will rule him out for at least three months./ppstrong/strong/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/arsenal"Arsenal/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/france"France/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague"Premier League/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227298789329112120300438560"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227298789329112120300438560" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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team mates,intention,nasri,manchester city,explosive

Arsenal: Gallas écarté du groupe

Football - Wenger énervé

Gallas will stay on - Winterburn

Football: William Gallas lets rip at Arsenal team-mates for lacking courage

Guardian Unlimited

- 2 days and 10 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/16567?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Gallas+lets+rip+at+team-mates+for+lacking+couragech=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Arsenal+FC+%28Football%29%2CPremier+League+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPremier+Leaguec6=Dominic+Fifield%2CMikey+Staffordc7=2008_11_21c8=1121625c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Arsenalc13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FArsenal" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Arsenal captain, William Gallas, has launched an astonishing attack on his young team-mates, claiming they are "not brave enough in battle" and revealing he had been forced to step in to prevent players arguing during games. The France international also suggested one of his more experienced colleagues, who he refused to name, had proved a disruptive influence at the club on and off the pitch./ppThe outburst is particularly untimely with Arsenal, nine points off the top of the Premier League having lost their fourth game of the season against Aston Villa last Saturday, already rocked by confirmation that Theo Walcott will be absent for at least three months after the winger underwent surgery on his right shoulder yesterday. Gallas suggested he had grown tired of the drip-feed of criticism of his captaincy, initially sparked by his bizarre and petulant sit-down protest at Birmingham City in February, though his words will have done little for team harmony at the Emirates Stadium./pp"We have to understand that, to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight," said Gallas. "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. That is how they [Arsenal's young players] will forge their character and how they will get experience. Even though they've played a certain number of matches, they're still young and still learning."/ppThe 31-year-old, whose own form has been patchy not least against Villa, insisted he was speaking out because "there are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated". He revealed the team had fractured at half-time in the recent Premier League game with Tottenham Hotspur, with the score 1-1 at the time, though his most stinging criticism was levelled at an unnamed team-mate whose attitude had shocked him. "There was a problem at half-time [against Spurs]," he said. "The only thing that I could say at half-time was: 'Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.'/pp"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'm trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking it all [the blame]. It's very frustrating, but I'm 31 and the player concerned is six years younger than me." The players who fall into that bracket at the club include Robin van Persie, the Dutch forward and something of a free spirit as an attacking force, as well as Emmanuel Eboueacute; and Bacary Sagna. Yet Gallas' suggestion that the tete-a-tete had occurred during an attacking phase of play may be revealing./ppArsegrave;ne Wenger was made aware of the comments yesterday and, although Gallas is unlikely to be stripped of the captaincy, the Arsenal manager has not been impressed with the outburst after a difficult few days. Wenger's decision to retain his compatriot as skipper, rather than pass the armband to Cesc Fagrave;bregas, came as something of a surprise over the summer./ppThe centre-half's outburst appears born of frustration that Arsenal, well behind Chelsea and Liverpool in the league, may endure a fourth consecutive season without a trophy. "I have to win something this year," he said. "Arsenal has to win something. Another season without a trophy would be a kind of failure."/ppThe loss of Walcott represents a blow. Wenger said he does not hold the Football Association responsible for the training injury sustained on Tuesday at the Olympic stadium, with the club considering whether or not to seek compensation, via the FA's insurers. Thankfully, the 19-year-old's career has not been threatened by this set-back./pp"There is not concern about that," said the Arsenal manager. "Once the surgery is done and it is solid, there is no concern at all for the future of Theo Walcott. Not at all."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/arsenal"Arsenal/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague"Premier League/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727818112100421654622"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727818112100421654622" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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spirit,team mates,spurs,emmanuel,stripped

Premier League: Now West Brom's blunt rapier meets the Stoke cannons

Guardian Unlimited

- 2 days and 10 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/23878?ns=guardianpageName=Football%3A+Now+Albion%27s+blunt+rapier+meets+the+Stoke+cannonsch=Footballc3=The+Guardianc4=Premier+League+%28Football%29%2CWest+Brom+%28Football%29%2CStoke+City+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSportc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CPremier+Leaguec6=Stuart+Jamesc7=2008_11_21c8=1121647c9=articlec10=GUc11=Footballc12=Premier+Leaguec13=c14=h2=GU%2FFootball%2FPremier+League" width="1" height="1" //divpa href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/westbrom"West Bromwich Albion/a and a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/stokecity"Stoke City/a won promotion last season but that is where the similarities end. While Tony Mowbray hopes to produce a side capable of emulating Arsenal, Stoke have been upsetting rather than copying the country's leading clubs with their uncompromising style. Neither approach guarantees survival in the Premier League but before tomorrow's meeting at the Britannia Stadium a pattern has emerged where Albion are winning plenty of friends while Stoke pick up more points./ppThe fixture is not quite football's equivalent of Beauty and the Beast but the contrast between the two sides could hardly be starker. While Albion favour a patient passing game that encourages players to retain possession until an opening is created, Stoke have collected an impressive four wins from six matches at home due in no small part to their full-blooded and high-tempo approach to the game, which has bruised a few egos, as well as one or two Arsenal ankles, according to Arsegrave;ne Wenger. /ppMowbray is too respectful of Tony Pulis's success to criticise Stoke's methods but not everyone at The Hawthorns has been so diplomatic. "Stoke train with cannons rescued from local medieval ruins," said an anonymous match report in an Albion programme last season. "Footballs are loaded into them and fired into the distance for [Mamady] Sidibe to head and [Ricardo] Fuller to run after. It's a game plan that squeezes the life out of what used to be known as football."/ppNot surprisingly the comments irk Pulis, who strongly rejects accusations that Stoke are a one-dimensional long-ball side. "Tony wants to go one way, that's fine. But I think we play good football at this club," said the Stoke manager. "I don't think we just boot it from back to front. I think we're better than that. I think you're pigeon-holing us into something we're not. If you're saying we're going to play like Manchester United, then we're going to have to buy the players that Manchester United have got./pp"What did Wimbledon do for 12 or so years? What you've got to do is play to your strengths and the players you can afford and the players you can work with and we've got a certain style of football," continued Pulis, who then drew a comparison that might surprise some. "I think we play football. We play it in a way where we play through teams. I don't think we play across, backwards and square; we actually play through teams. And if you go and watch Aston Villa, I think they do exactly the same."/ppMowbray stated recently that those teams adopting a direct approach "might have one great season" but could not expect to enjoy long-term success. "You can never have consistency playing long-ball and knock downs," said the Albion manager. "You are hoping it drops for you, whereas if you are playing a precision game and playing off the back foot and creating angles and making clever runs, the opposition have got to work hard to stop that because it's not by accident that it happens."/ppHe was careful to claim yesterday, however, that he was not applying his theory to Stoke, with the Albion manager suggesting that Rory Delap's ability to throw the ball such huge distances made Pulis's side a different proposition from others that have failed with the long-ball approach. "Watford didn't have enough of the ball and kept giving it back to good teams and got hurt," explained Mowbray. "Stoke, possibly with this extra weapon they've got [in Delap], are finding it easier because a throw-in in the attacking half of the pitch puts teams under pressure." /ppAlbion have found it much more difficult to trouble opposition defences, with the 10 goals they have scored this season the lowest tally in the division, highlighting their shortcomings in the final third. Stoke have hardly been prolific in comparison and are only three points above Albion, who lie at the bottom of the table, yet their victories over Arsenal and Aston Villa highlight the problems their modus operandi can present and also suggest that they could be the more likely of the two to avoid relegation./pp"Both managers have stuck to their principles and stuck to their styles of play," added the Albion manager. "Time will tell which team survives, prospers and goes on. But I understand you have got to win football matches. If you don't win football matches, you leave yourself open to what is right or wrong. The bigger picture with me is that I don't really care. I know what I do and that won't change. I'm trying to play good football, create good habits and improve players."/ph2Different approaches/h2pstrongThe uncompromising/strong/ppstrongBolton Wanderers, 2001-02/strong/ppDespite signing the classy Youri Djorkaeff, below, Bolton mine a rich vein by skying the ball towards Michael Ricketts./ppstrongWatford, 2006-07 /strong/ppLosing Ashley Young to Aston Villa mid-season didn't help, but 29 goals in 38 games suggests a team intent on destroying, not creating./ppstrongThe entertainers/strong/ppstrongReading, 2006-07 /strong/ppSteve Sidwell, Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt, Nicky Shorey, James Harper... Steve Coppell had plenty of reasons to encourage a passing game./ppstrongIpswich Town, 2000-01 /strong/ppGeorge Burley's Tractor Boys pass their way into Europe as he wins manager of the season and Titus Bramble is considered a future England star. Halcyon days indeed./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/premierleague"Premier League/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/westbrom"West Brom/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/stokecity"Stoke City/a/li/ul/divdiv class="guRssAdvert"a href="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/click.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727825112100421654622"img src="http://ads.guardian.co.uk/image.ng/richmedia=yessite=Footballcountry=(none)spacedesc=rsssystem=rsstransactionID=1227227727825112100421654622" border="0" //a/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a

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strongly,principles,margins,arsenal,albion

Arsenal: Eduardo à l'entraînement la semaine prochaine

Foot - ANG - Arsenal - Eduardo sur le retour

Foot - Arsenal : Walcott opéré

Football - Transferts - Des Belges pour Arsenal ?