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Gallas: Arsenal must toughen up

20/11/2008

William Gallas has hit out at his Arsenal team-mates, saying they "are not brave enough" to win the Premier League title at the moment.

The Frenchman, who was made team captain by Gunners boss and countryman Arsene Wenger last season, claims the north London team have lost the aura that they held after four seasons without silverware.

Gallas is becoming renowned for speaking his mind to the media over team issues, and his latest outburst is unlikely to win him many friends in the dressing room.

"We have to understand that to be champions, you have to play big matches every weekend and fight," he told the Associated Press news agency.

"We are coming up against teams who are not scared to play football against us, who are not scared to take us on at our place, and this is becoming dangerous for Arsenal.

"We are not brave enough in battle.

"I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors. There are teams who can do it well against us, and we have to be able to face up to these attacks."

In a candid admission, Gallas also admitted there has been disharmony in the Gunners camp of late - referring specifically to the recent 4-4 draw with bitter local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

He explained: "There was a problem at half-time. The only thing that I could say at half-time was, 'Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.'

"I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking all [the blame].

"It's very frustrating. I'm 31 and the player is six years younger than me."

Gallas continued: "As captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player... complaining about him.

"During the match you can speak to this player but the player in question insults us. There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen."

However, despite his outburst Gallas does not believe the Gunners' title ambitions are over already and said the club "have to win something this year".

"It's four or five years since Arsenal won anything, and that's not good," he said.

"For me the title is not over. It's true we are nine points behind Chelsea but you have to be optimistic. You can't give up."