William Gallas has hit back at claims that his
astonishing sit-down protest at Birmingham sparked Arsenal's
collapse in the title race. The Gunners captain was widely
criticised for losing his cool in the 2-2 draw at St Andrew's,
where he vented his anger at team-mate Gael Clichy for conceding a
late penalty, stamped on an advertising hoarding and ignored the
spot-kick, and then staged a one-man protest at the final
whistle.
The image of his solitary sulk became a symbol of the Gunners'
disintegrating season while today team-mate Kolo Toure publicly
criticised Gallas's actions. After that February match, which also
saw team-mate Eduardo suffer an horrific leg break, the Gunners'
title hopes spectacularly collapsed - with just two wins in their
last eight Premier League games - alongside their Champions League
campaign at Anfield.
Yet a defiant Gallas today denied his tantrum unsettled the
team, saying: "They [the media] can say what they want... they will
not bring me down, I'm stronger than that. It makes me mad because
I don't think [what happened in Birmingham] was our problem. How
can you summarise our season with that thing at Birmingham? That is
not why we stopped winning matches."
Although Arsene Wenger defended Gallas over his outburst the
manager warned that he may chose a new captain in the summer, with
Toure one of the leading candidates for the job. With the armband
seemingly up for grabs, he wasn't afraid to have a go at Gallas
over his antics at St Andrew's. The Ivorian said: "William was
really good for us at the start of the season. But then after this
Birmingham game he made a mistake, he knows that and we all tried
to bring him back to the team and he came back well.
""But when you make a mistake it is difficult after that - it
was a really important part of our season." Toure, who would face
competition from Cesc Fabregas for the role, would relish the
chance to lead the Gunners. He said: "I would be really, really
proud. I am now one of the oldest players so naturally I feel like
a captain and it doesn't matter if I have the armband or not."
