Saturday Mar 01 2008 10:40
Arsenal skipper William Gallas has won the full backing of manager Arsene Wenger, following his emotional reaction at the end of the 2-2 draw at Birmingham City last weekend.
France international defender Gallas sat on the St Andrew's turf for several minutes after the final whistle had blown and reportedly had to be calmed down by several of his team-mates when he eventually reached the dressing room.
However, Wenger believes that Gallas' reaction just shows how much he cares about the club securing the Premier League title.
He said: "Gallas' leadership qualities for me are outstanding, even if on that occasion he used his commitment in the wrong way.
"Ideally he should not have responded like that, but it was not to blame anybody at all. He is a guy who is highly committed and sometimes when he goes overboard he can respond like that. He is an explosive one.
"William is not young, but he has the commitment of a very young boy, believe me, and you want people in this job who care.
"What I hate the most are people who are always 'nicey nice' and behave well, but at the end of the day they cheat a little bit with their commitment.
"I prefer sometimes a guy who goes overboard without hurting anybody who cares about winning. That is William, he cares about winning."
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