Taylor: Wenger should axe Gallas
Friday, 21 November 2008 14:27Former England manager Graham Taylor believes Arsene Wenger would be wrong to retain William Gallas as his captain after the defender launched a verbal attack on his Arsenal team-mates yesterday.
In an interview given in his native France, 31-year-old Gallas questioned the commitment of the Gunners' first-team squad following four league defeats this season.
The France international also revealed some team-mates have approached him to complain about one member of the squad in particular, although Gallas did not reveal his identity.
The controversial comments have given way to renewed speculation over the conduct of the experienced centre-back, who was widely criticised for his emotional outburst following Arsenal's 2-2 draw against Birmingham in February.
He was also fined two weeks' wages and received a stern rebuke from Wenger after being photographed leaving a nightclub with a cigarette in his mouth last month.
Gallas' latest misdemeanour has left his grip on the Arsenal captaincy looking shaky, and Taylor believes the time has come for Wenger to swing the axe.
'Would we not think that by now Arsene Wenger, the manager that he is, would know the kind of person he wants as a captain, and if it isn't working for him, make those changes,' Taylor told BBC Radio Five Live.
'He knows his players better than any of us, he knows what he's looking for as a leader, as a captain. If he feels that Gallas isn't doing that then I think he's wrong if he continues with him.
'I would have thought by now a manager of Arsene Wenger's calibre knows what makes a good captain, and I'm somewhat surprised that he still has stuck with Gallas even after that Birmingham situation.'
