Arsene Wenger Hit out on William Gallas Being Photographed with cigarette

A photograph of Arsenal captain William Gallas holding a cigarette in his mouth while leaving a night club caused Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to become furious at the captain. Wenger, who maintains strict discipline on diet, health as well as lifestyle of the players, was in anger while commenting on the photograph of Gallas. The French manager clearly he did not like what Gallas did and he felt that as a club captain William Gallas had some responsibility.

Canadian Press reported:

"I didn't see the picture. I have been informed, but I don't like that," Wenger said Friday. "I will check that with him. He has a responsibility as captain of Arsenal Football Club. That cannot be accepted.

"It is a public job with a public responsibility and therefore it is exactly the same for everybody."

I also agree with Wenger in this regard. As a club captain, he must show some responsibility and make himself as a leader not only on the field, but also off the field. Moreover, as a professional footballer he can not break his diet during the season and can not do what he is restricted from doing. Last year, Gallas was criticized when he refused to leave the ground following a 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

There is no doubt, William Gallas is still one of the best centre defenders in the premier league. I hope, he will understand that he has a lot to offer for his club.

William Gallas: Cigarette and Captaincy!

Smoking cigarettes, is not a big deal in many countries in the world. However, it is not praised in the mainstream media anywhere. So, when Arsenal captain William Gallas was photographed as smoking a cigarette naturally, it created a lot of negative publicity in the media. The coach Arsense Wenger is not happy with this matter but he thinks that William Gallas is the right man at the helm of arsenal.

I think that most supporters have the same attitude too. I’m not a big fan of smoking and I really wish that players like William Gallas become more careful not to be photographed with a cigarette. This would send the wrong signal to the teenagers. The best thing to have a while you were being photographed is perhaps a book.

Related Article

Wenger backs Gallas after Arsenal captain photographed with cigarette

Arsenal Players in France Team Against Romania

Today, the French national football squad of 22-members was announced for the match against Romania. It is a world cup 2010 qualifying match and it is very important for France. France in the first match suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat against Austria in Austria and then won the home match against Serbia by 2-1. The good news for the French fans is that Patrick Vieira and Franck Ribery have been called back. Both of them were injured for sometime. Well, you know that Patrick Vieira used to play for Arsenal and he is considered to be one of the greatest Arsenal players among the fans. I was also happy to see two more Arsenal players in the defense. They are Arsenal captain William Gallas and Gael Clichy. There is another player in the defense who is Bacary Sagna from the London club. In midfield, I have talked about Patrick Vieira who now plays for Inter Milan and used to be in London in the past. In the forward line up, there is Thierry Henry who is currently playing for Barcelona, but in the past, he used to play for Arsenal. So, you can see that the past and present players of this London club constitute a significant portion French national team now.

I am happy for it and it did not surprise me because Arsene Wenger is from France. The only thing shocking to me is that Samir Nasri was not included in the 22-men squad. Coach Raymond Domenech thinks that Samir Nasri is not fit enough yet to play in the international level. Well, he may be wrong because in the midweek Samir Nasri played against Porto and was impressive.

Here, I am giving the names of the full squad of France for the Romania Match from Reuters:

Goalkeepers: Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon)

Defenders: William Gallas (Arsenal), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Bakary Sagna (Arsenal), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Rod Fanni (Stade Rennais), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Patrick Vieira (Inter Milan), Jeremy Toulalan (Olympique Lyon), Alou Diarra (Girondins Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)

Forwards: Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyon), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins Bordeaux), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Atletico Madrid), Hatem Ben Arfa (Olympique Marseille). (Editing by Clare Fallon)

Arsenal Started Premier League with 1-0 Victory over West Bromwich

Arseal started their new season with an easy 1-0 victory over newly promoted West Bromwich Albion today at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal got the winning goal just four minutes into the match thanks to French midfielder Samir Nasri, who came to play his debut match for Arsenal. It is true that the victory was not of a convincing one, but picking up three points from the first match, despite missing a number of key players due to injury, Arsenal players deserves credit and I think, Arsenal fans should not have any reason to feel unhappy with Arsenal’s opening match performance.

Captain William Gallas is also happy with their performance. Though Gallas admits that Arsenal was a bit nervous and it was important to win the match. Denilson and Emmanuel Eboue played in the central midfield, while Nasri and Theo Walcott were in two flanks. Arsene Wenger earlier confirmed that he would sign at least one more player in summer transfer window and I think, one more midfielder would make Arsenal squad more balanced.

Related article:

Canadian Press

William Gallas: Captain of Arsenal This Season Too

It is official now that William Gallas will remain as the Captain of Arsenal this season too. To be honest with you, I am a big fan of Arsene Wenger and I have a lot of respect for him as the couch of Arsenal. But this decision shocked me because William Gallas was the Captain of Arsenal club last season. He failed to impress anyone and he hardly showed any leadership quality.

Telegraph wrote:

He famously lashed out at an advertising hoarding when James McFadden converted a penalty equaliser in the dying moments and then sat down on the centre circle in a solitary protest long after the final whistle.

"You know, I learnt a lot," admitted the 30-year-old. "You want to be the best captain, give good advice to your players but sometimes you can make mistakes as well, so I think this season I know what I'm going to do and I know I am ready to change my way to speak to the players."

So, there is a lot of expectations from all the fans. Can William Gallas perform and satisfy everyone this time? To know the answer, we will have to wait 9 more months.