Are Arsenal unravelling? Certainly the Gunners are showing symptoms of a deep malaise. Results and performances have been wildly inconsistent this season, Arsène Wenger's failure or refusal to recruit experienced, top-quality players during the summer has been criticised, with varying degrees of venom and directness, by fans and even some of his players, and now William Gallas has revealed the squad is beset by damaging squabbles.
According to Gallas, a 25-year-old Gunner is antagonising his team-mates by refusing to pull his weight on the pitch. If the captain is correct about the trouble-maker's age, there are only a few players who it could be. Should Gallas have gone the whole hog and named the player rather than cast suspicion on all the 25-year-olds in the squad? Or should he have kept the matter in-house and trusted Wenger to sort it out?
Does Gallas' semi-outing of the player suggest he has lost faith in yet another aspect of Wenger's management? Or does it show a captain acting selfishly, more concerned with absolving himself of any blame for Arsenal's erratic form than with preserving whatever team morale still exists at the Emirates? And is this proof that the Gunners are sorely missing departed vice-chairman David Dein?
