Gallas captaincy in doubt

Arsene Wenger is facing mounting pressure to strip William Gallas of the Arsenal captaincy following the outspoken Frenchman's latest verbal attack on his team-mates.

Gallas, 31, who has previously questioned the desire of his colleagues and infamously staged a sit-in on the St Andrew's pitch when the Gunners conceded a late equaliser to Birmingham City last season, is reported to have angered Wenger with a fresh blast at his team-mates.

The former Chelsea defender revealed in an interview published on Thursday that he had to intervene in a half-time dressing-room confrontation between two players during last month's 4-4 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

He also complained about the lack of respect shown to him by an unnamed and junior member of the squad.

"There was a problem at half-time," he revealed. "The only thing that I could say was, 'Guys, we resolve these problems after the match, not at half-time.'

"There are things that can't be said and can't be tolerated. When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player, complaining about him and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us.

"There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen.

"I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking all the blame. It's very frustrating. I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me."

However, Gallas' further suggestion that some of his team-mates are lacking courage and bravery seems certain to anger Wenger.

Speaking about the fact that the Gunners have already lost four times in the league this season, he added: "We are not brave enough in battle. I think we need to be soldiers. We have to be warriors.

"There are teams who can do it well against us and we have to be able to face up to these attacks.

"That is how they will forge their character and how they will get experience."