Gallas doing it for Spurs.

Just for this week, I thought I’d talk about the 21st club in Ligue 1,
Arsene Wenger’s Gunners. Arsenal’s season has, once again, fallen
apart very quickly. Many, including myself, thought this would be the
season that they would finally reclaim some semblance of the glory days
of the noughties. After being dumped out of the FA Cup on Saturday at
the hands of Manchester United, however, they have only the league left
to fight.
Yet, fight they will. The media have been quick to sensationalise
Arsenal’s losses as a signal of their fading title tilt, whilst
forgetting that they are only 3 points behind United with a game in
hand. Now, I think most people would agree that no-one has really
‘deserved’ the league, as yet, this season. By that I mean no one has
exhibited sufficient dominance to lay an outright claim to the title,
something also seen in France’s Ligue 1. In England’s lower leagues,
QPR, Brighton and Chesterfield all have firm grips on their respective
titles, although QPR’s is beginning to look a bit tenuous.
The cold comfort of being knocked out of the cup competitions and
Europe is that the Gunners will now have all the rest that an
increasingly banged up squad could ask. Further, with the game in
hand, they are virtually level with United, who must come to the
Emirates before it’s all said and done. My point here is that if (and
it’s a big if) Arsene Wenger can find any kind of motivation for his
players, they might yet lift a trophy come season’s end.
Confidence is the big conundrum for Wenger – Arsenal’s crisp,
beautiful game is so reliant on it, that in its absence, the team
stumbles about in a fog, contriving to draw or lose against much lesser
teams. Against the Red Devils, they seemed to again lack a cutting edge,
and this may have been the symptom of a hangover gained from their
night out in Barcelona, where they learnt the slightly different meaning
of the phrase “out of your league”.
It’s time, then, for the experienced heads to step up. Robin Van
Persie, Andrei Arshavin, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas need to take the
lead and soon. They must ensure that the younger players’ heads do not
drop, especially Wojciech Szczesny and Johan Djourou, who will naturally
feel dejected at being unavailable at such a critical time.

How Arsene could do with a seasoned defender right now to calm the
mood by keeping his head down and just playing football. I’m not
advocating the return of William Gallas but there is some irony in the
fact that this is exactly the role the Frenchman is performing at Spurs,
who have their own defensive injury issues.
Against the expectations of many (including fans of Chelsea, Arsenal
and France), Gallas has settled at Tottenham and become a mainstay of
their defence. I must say that I was one of the doubters when Harry
signed the London-based mercenary, but Gallas certainly proved me wrong
with a resolute display against AC Milan that drew praise from many
quarters.
I don’t particularly like Gallas but that performance should be
respected. At 33, he’s now entering his twilight years. Perhaps the man
who famously shamed Arsene Wenger with his on-pitch hissy fit at the
Emirates has grown up a little. Whatever the case, he is driving Spurs
forward, towards the level of his former clubs. Spurs may be on the
outside looking in as afar as the Premier League top four is concerned
but their confidence is soaring in Europe. Arsenal would love to bottle
some of that and serve it up domestically.