When Patrick Vieira left Arsenal, he was the last stable captain for Arsenal. Inspirational and always steady, successive captains like Thierry Henry and later Gilberto Silva were not able to match Vieira in leading the Gunners.

I believe Wenger knew about this problem and he bravely made William Gallas the captain of his young Arsenal side. It seemed a controversial move that was unpopular with many Arsenal fans, but was Le Boss once again about to prove his eye for talent? Just how good is Gallas in leading our young side forward?

“Tinkerman” Claudio Ranieri signed Gallas in May, 2001 from Marseille for £6.2m. At that time, he was dubbed one of the brightest prospects France had to offer. For five years, he played for Chelsea in various positions across the back four. He grew from strength to strength and made his full France debut in a Euro 2004 qualifier against Slovenia.

Although an important member of Chelski, Gallas was never settled at Stamford Bridge as he was always played out of position. His preferred position of centre-back does not seem associated with him as he was always played as a left-back due to a lack of cover. For his part, he has always voiced his displeasure in private and public.

By 2005-6, Gallas had already established himself as one he best defenders in Europe, able to play anywhere across the back four adequately. His continuous unhappiness at playing left-back for Chelski finally led to a transfer dateline deal, taking him to Arsenal as part of the Cashley Cole move to Chelski. After playing 225 games for Chelski and scoring 14 goals for them, Gallas changed his blue shirt for our red for the 2006-2007 season.

Many Gunners were unhappy with the deal and condemned Cashley Cole as Judas Cole. Many felt that we were hard done by giving up an young promising English international for an aging, 30-year-old centre-back.