FABREGAS THE BEST CHOICE

Fabregas waits in the wings after Gallas is dismissed


This week Arsene Wenger named Cesc Fabregas as his new captain at Arsenal, and it is hard to see a better man for the job right now. In the summer, in my opinion, Wenger lost his two best natural leaders, in Gilberto and yes, Mathieu Flamini. This season it has to be noted that there is a lack of leadership in the midfield and no matter how good Fabregas is, last season that leader was Flamini. Unfortunately for Wenger, money appeared more attractive to Flamini than loyalty to a club that has made his career, something that can be said of Arsenal in many cases, Ashley Cole to name but another, and the Gunners boss, whether through want of trying or not, failed to find a suitable replacement.

Wenger said on Sunday before choosing his captain, "I don't believe too much in leadership. I believe more in good passing than a guy who jumps around with his hands in the air and plays the leader". In this case, i have to say i disagree with him, which is not something that happens often. When you look at previous Arsenal captains such as Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira, you would always see them shouting and waving their arms about to instruct the team. Adams by the way, as an interesting fact was 21, the same age as Fabregas when he first captained Arsenal. Good omen for the future perhaps?

Apart from Fabregas, it is hard to see another stand-out candidate. Obviously Kolo Toure is experienced, knows the club and in the past has been one of the best defenders in the league, however, in the last two seasons, he has been nowhere near the Toure of old and has been rather injury-prone. It is almost impossible for Wenger to make someone who will more than likely be out for half the season the club captain. The same goes for Robin van Persie. I believe that if Tomas Rosicky hadn't picked up the injury when he did and had made as big an impact as i think he would have done last season, i think he would have been a strong candidate for the role. He is more of a natural leader, as well as having captained his country many times in the past. Manuel Almunia has looked shaky recently and i have never agreed with a goalkeeper being captain as it is virtually impossible to lead a team from the penalty area. Other than those it is hard to find any other possibilities which is why i believe Wenger has made the right decision with what he's got.

CRISIS CALLS FOR ALL GUNS AT THE READY

"The worst week of my life" seems like an appropriate statement for Arsenal at this time, but as Arsene Wenger said "I've had worse". A week when a second home defeat seemed to confirm to fans that the Emirates was no longer a place where they just don't lose, captain and supposed leader William Gallas had hung out the clubs dirty laundry for all to see and the weaknesses and injuries of the team were the talk of most of the footballing world, it surely wasn't about to get worse. Manchester City and Robinho made sure of that. The defence looks like a bunch of school-boys against Premier League champions, and whats worse, it didn't look like anyone could be bothered.

Despite all this, Arsenal fan must remember that as one fan on 606 said "before Arsene Wenger we were not very good" and he's right, moreover calls from some for Arsene Wenger's head is ridiculous, as former Arsenal favourite Lee Dixon said "a great manager doesn't become a bad manager over night". One fan even ordered that Gallas be reinstated and Wenger dismissed. To compare the two's records at the club is like comparing a pint of Carling from the Herbert Chapman pub to a can of Asda's economy. A man who has turns around the club from "boring, boring arsenal" to a team who has been playing some of the best football in Europe for years, who until five years ago, had been winning things, and winning them in style. Then error-prone, past-his-best Gallas, who has done nothing but whine and moan and sulk in the middle of football pitches and back-stab his manager to try to get his own way. A complete no-brainer as to who i would keep as far as i'm concerned.



What Gallas did is completely inexcusable. A leader on and off the pitch, a role model is what he is supposed to be, but instead he sets an example that shows he has no regard for the club and shows him to be a pathetic coward. Great captains of the past like Frank Mclintock, Tony Adams and Patrick Vieira would not have even thought about it. Nobody but him will know what he hoped to achieve with this outburst, but all it did was made Arsenal the laughing stock of not just north ondon, but the whole of footballing England.

From now, it can only get better, with a reasonably safe Champions League game against Dynamo Kiev to come in mid-week, and a game which all will expect to be lost away at Stamford Bridge, the team need to pick themselves up and make the most of the rest of the season. One win next weekend will see a complete turn-around in the media and the dressing room. All these recent crisis talks means low-pressure on the Chelsea game and gives them more chance off pulling off a surprise win. Even if, as expected, they do lose, a good performance will do them the world of good and help drag back to where they want to be. The Premier League is all but gone now, but the Carling Cup, FA cup and Champions League are all still very realistic targets. In the cups, you only have to play well for one game, look at Portsmouth who won the FA Cup last season, and Liverpool who somehow managed to win the Champions League in 2005. Anything is possible with some optimism and a couple of decent January signings.