William Gallas should have been a great signing for Arsenal. The defender arrived in the summer of 2006, along with £5 million, in a deal that saw Ashley Cole head to Stamford Bridge following some rather distasteful tapping up by Chelsea the previous season. He had just won back to back Premier League titles with the Blues and it seemed a good deal for everyone involved. The warning signs were there from the beginning, however, with Chelsea accusing the Frenchman of threatening to deliberately score own goals if he was not given a transfer. Gallas was then inexplicably handed the number 10 shirt, which was vacant after its previous incumbent, the legendary Dennis Bergkamp, retired. Maybe this is an old fashioned statement but a defender should not be wearing the number 10 shirt and certainly not Gallas as it seemed to feed his ego. He was made captain at the beginning of his second season with the club and Arsene Wenger could not have made a worse choice. In a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City (the game in which Eduardo broke his leg), Gallas sat in the centre circle in protest after Arsenal conceded a last minute penalty. Hardly the actions of a captain worth his salt. He continued this trend when he gave an interview criticising other squad members and suggesting some of the younger players needed to step up their game. All in all, a pretty poor signing. Perhaps, the only positive Arsenal fans can take is he then inflicted some of the pain on Spurs fans following his move there.
