English Premier League, Italian Serie A
- March 11, 2010 - 1 Comment
Gallas Watch: Will He Stay, Or Will He Go
As Arsenal step up their efforts to secure the future of key players and up-and-coming talents, there have been speculations about a few players who have yet to put pen to paper on new contracts. Gilles Sunu and Fran Merida make up part of this list (whose contracts are yet to be renewed), but the major concern has been on a veteran key player in the heart of Arsenal’s defense. William Gallas has been the subject of growing speculation as his contract runs out in the summer of 2010.
Amidst all the uncertainties, the latest piece of rumour reports that Claudio Ranieri, the current Roma manager is extremely interested in bringing the French international to the Stadio Olimpico on a free transfer. Gallas’ past working relationship with Ranieri at Chelsea before joining Arsenal seems to have contributed to the high possibility of this rumoured transfer. Having said that, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will not easily let Gallas go. After all, the French tactician is still a huge admirer of Gallas’ intelligent defensive display week in week out for the North London club.
However, the rollercoaster ride endured by the 32 year old defender during his time at Arsenal might also have an influence on his future. William Gallas first joined Arsenal from Chelsea on a swap deal involving Ashley Cole going the opposite direction after an intense war of words between him and the then Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, claiming that he would “score an own goal” if he wasn’t allowed to leave the club. During his tenure at the Emirates Stadium, he have reached the climax of his Arsenal career by earning the captaincy of the club during season 2007/2008. He led the team to the top of the Premier League for months until the Eduardo incident at St Andrews occurred and took away his captaincy.
Despite that, he stayed on at Arsenal in the following summer and slowly rebuilt his confidence and enhanced his performance for the club. But it was without another controversy, where it was reported that he has fallen out with former Gunner Kolo Toure. This incident has been speculated as the reason for the departure of the Ivorian centre defender. This season though, he has formed a very solid partnership with newly signed Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen.
Currently, Gallas is still nursing a calf injury for a month after Wenger announced that he has suffered another setback on his journey to recovery. Some Arsenal fansites/blogs speculate that this injury might be the beginning of the end for his Arsenal career but today’s news contradict this speculation. Quoted from the latest article on the club’s official website (as of Thursday), Wenger said the club will try hard to find a solution to the Gallas situation.
Whether he will be at Arsenal in the summer of 2010, it is still a bit early to say. There might be some twists along the way and it now entirely depends on how much the club wants him to stay.
Article By Kelvin










