ALMUNIA: GALLAS IS STILL ARSENAL LEADER
Manuel Almunia believes that William Gallas is in the form of his life having been freed of the pressures of being Arsenal captain.
The French defender, who was stripped of the skipper’s armband in November after publically criticising his team-mates, scored the Gunners’ winner against Portsmouth on Sunday.
And Spanish goalkeeper Almunia, who captained the side in the 1-0 victory over Pompey, believes that Gallas is still the leader on the field.
He said: “I think that William lost his form when he was captain because he lost some energy. He took responsibility for the pressure felt by all the players, by the group. He took, I think, too much responsibility.
“And now he is enjoying playing football, on the pitch, without so much pressure. William took too many responsibilities and tried to be the main player on the pitch.
“I think he is playing better than before. I spoke to him last week and he told me that now he is playing better because he is not losing too much energy because he is not worried about other things and other players or other circumstances off the pitch.
“He is an unbelievable professional and when he was captain he would fight for the team, in every aspect. He is a real winner and has a strong character. But we are on William’s side – everyone supports him.
“He is a player with more trophies than anyone else in the team, including a World Cup winner’s medal – everyone has to respect that. He knows very well how to get success. Even though he is not the captain we follow him.”
Almunia continued: “I have a very good relationship with him and I was very happy for him to score against Portsmouth. He has been playing very well and he deserved the goal.
“I play with so much confidence when William is playing in front of me – he is a special guy. I hope he stays at the club because I am very pleased with William on the pitch and in the dressing room.”
On Arsenal’s chances of catching Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are 10 points ahead, the 31-year-old added: “For whatever reason we lost our way, our character and the way we play on the pitch. We need to re-find our spirit and our desire to win games.
“We have shown good character. But we still have a little more to go to find the real Arsenal. We are coming back slowly and we are showing better faith and character. But there is still a long way to go.
“We are not in a very good position now and the main thing is to look for our identity, our way, our character that gave this club all their titles and trophies.
“Once we have found this way [again] we can talk about bigger things. But the main thing now is to get three points in every single game.”
Manuel Almunia believes that William Gallas is in the form of his life having been freed of the pressures of being Arsenal captain.
The French defender, who was stripped of the skipper’s armband in November after publically criticising his team-mates, scored the Gunners’ winner against Portsmouth on Sunday.
And Spanish goalkeeper Almunia, who captained the side in the 1-0 victory over Pompey, believes that Gallas is still the leader on the field.
He said: “I think that William lost his form when he was captain because he lost some energy. He took responsibility for the pressure felt by all the players, by the group. He took, I think, too much responsibility.
“And now he is enjoying playing football, on the pitch, without so much pressure. William took too many responsibilities and tried to be the main player on the pitch.
“I think he is playing better than before. I spoke to him last week and he told me that now he is playing better because he is not losing too much energy because he is not worried about other things and other players or other circumstances off the pitch.
“He is an unbelievable professional and when he was captain he would fight for the team, in every aspect. He is a real winner and has a strong character. But we are on William’s side – everyone supports him.
“He is a player with more trophies than anyone else in the team, including a World Cup winner’s medal – everyone has to respect that. He knows very well how to get success. Even though he is not the captain we follow him.”
Almunia continued: “I have a very good relationship with him and I was very happy for him to score against Portsmouth. He has been playing very well and he deserved the goal.
“I play with so much confidence when William is playing in front of me – he is a special guy. I hope he stays at the club because I am very pleased with William on the pitch and in the dressing room.”
On Arsenal’s chances of catching Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are 10 points ahead, the 31-year-old added: “For whatever reason we lost our way, our character and the way we play on the pitch. We need to re-find our spirit and our desire to win games.
“We have shown good character. But we still have a little more to go to find the real Arsenal. We are coming back slowly and we are showing better faith and character. But there is still a long way to go.
“We are not in a very good position now and the main thing is to look for our identity, our way, our character that gave this club all their titles and trophies.
“Once we have found this way [again] we can talk about bigger things. But the main thing now is to get three points in every single game.”
Labels: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Manuel Almunia, William Gallas
