WHATS UP FOR GALLAS ?

William Gallas is to be stripped of the Arsenal captaincy, according to reports. The magazine France Football claims Gallas has lost the armband, and that one of Gael Clichy or Manuel Almunia will take over his duties for Arsenal's Premier League fixture away to Manchester City on Saturday. Gallas is also said to have been dropped from the squad for the trip.
Yesterday Gallas, 31, revealed rifts in the Arsenal dressing room, a blazing row during the interval of the 4-4 draw with rivals Tottenham and a problem with an unnamed team-mate unsettling the squad. It emerged today that his autobiography details similar unrest in the France camp during their disastrous Euro 2008 campaign, singling out a player who he felt was disrespecting older members of the squad.
"I was also 20 years old once. I would never have allowed myself to speak in this tone to a footballer who was older than me," writes Gallas. "The youngsters from the Euros seem cheeky, very sure of themselves. They think they know it all, but they don't know anything. Faced with his contempt, I raised my voice. The young player said: 'Lower your voice, speak less loudly'.
"I replied: 'How are you speaking to me? Who do you think you are? You are only 20 years old. I am not your friend. He said: 'Me neither, I am not your friend'."
Arsenal have so far declined to comment on the reports, with a club spokesman stating that "it is club policy not to comment on speculation". Manager Arsène Wenger had previously defended Gallas, insisting the game is too fast for one person to take sole responsibility on the field.
"It's so quick everywhere, there is less time for one person to lead the team," said Wenger. "You need more shared leadership on the pitch. You still need people talking in the dressing room but on the pitch it has become too quick for just one guy. Now the goalkeeper catches the ball and straight away the ball is in the other half."
Wenger retained Gallas as captain coming into the season after reviewing his role over the summer following the centre-back's infamous tantrum at Birmingham where he bizarrely was at the other end of the pitch in protest when James McFadden scored a last-gasp penalty. Drawing at St Andrew's put a huge dent in Arsenal's title hopes, and this season they have already lost four Premier League games.
Wenger, though, has limited options to replace Gallas at the City of Manchester Stadium this weekend, with Cesc Fábregas, the supporters' favourite for the role, suspended. Kolo Touré is a doubt with a calf problem, and is considered a quieter member of Wenger's squad.
The former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn said he was disappointed with Gallas' outburst and said the matter should have been dealt with internally. "I'm very disappointed with Gallas' comments," he said. "We all know arguments happen at half-time and full-time in any game, not just at Arsenal, and they're dealt with inside the club. It certainly doesn't need the captain to come out and tell the world players have fallen out - that can be good, it shows they care and are not prepared to accept defeat."
Gallas has been quoted in the Evening Standard as being open to an eventual return to France for the final stages of his career, although there has been no suggestion of that being imminent. "It's true that I'd like to return to France for one or perhaps two seasons to finish my career," he said. "But if I go it won't be to just anywhere. I'd go to a big club or nowhere at all. The choices look simple to me - it would be Marseille, Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain or Bordeaux.
"PSG are a massive club and known everywhere. I've stayed in contact with Claude Makelele and he's told me that he's pretty happy to be in Paris. He feels he's getting the respect he deserves from everyone."