Source: Team_Talk
Wenger wishes Gallas all the best
Arsene Wenger has wished former Arsenal captain William Gallas all the best ahead of his expected move to north-London rivals Tottenham.[LNB] Wenger believes Gallas always received "an exaggerated bad reputation".[LNB]The 33-year-old - who joined the Gunners as part of the deal which took England full-back Ashley Cole to Chelsea on deadline day in August 2006 - was a free agent after failing to agree terms on a contract extension at the Emirates Stadium.[LNB]While few doubted his ability, French defender Gallas' temperament was debated.[LNB]He famously broke down in the centre circle at Birmingham February 2008 on the day Eduardo suffered his horrific broken leg.[LNB]Wenger also stripped Gallas of the captaincy, replacing him with Cesc Fabregas, for publicly questioning the character of the young Arsenal squad.[LNB]However, the Gunners boss maintained there were no lingering hard feelings.[LNB]"William has an exaggerated bad reputation. I believe that he is a genuine winner," said the Arsenal manager.[LNB]"He wants things not to be done at 90% and is completely focused and motivated to win.[LNB]"He can be sometimes, a little bit brutal or impulsive in his reaction - but when you are a manager, he is not someone who talks behind your back.[LNB]"William is somebody who is straight and is completely focused on the game. You respect that."[LNB]Wenger added: "The Spurs move is a surprise, but I can completely understand that.[LNB]"At the moment he looks for a club, he is free, he has chosen the best possible option for him.[LNB]"We are thankful for what he has done for us and we wish him good luck in his new club."[LNB]Gallas' wage demands - reported to be £80,000-a-week - were said to be one block to a new deal with the Gunners, who were also understood to have only been offering a 12-month extension.[LNB]Wenger was keen for Gallas to remain to add experience to the young squad, but accepted it was just bad timing which saw him turn attentions elsewhere, eventually signing 24-year-old promising centre-back Laurent Koscielny from Lorient and it now appears a move for veteran Sevilla defender Sebastien Squillaci could soon be completed.[LNB]"It was more down to timing why William left," Wenger reflected.[LNB]"We had not found an agreement towards the end of the season and then I turned somewhere else.[LNB]"I focused completely on signing Koscielny and it took me a long, long time to do that.[LNB]"You have to turn somewhere else and now we trust Koscielny, [Johan] Djourou, [Thomas] Vermaelen and [Alex] Song."[LNB]Wenger rejected suggestions Gallas could come back to haunt his old club.[LNB]"There is just a little bit of a risk that he is a bit more exposed in the derby, but we have seen that before," he said.[LNB]With veterans Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre also leaving at the end of their contracts, while out-of-favour Philippe Senderos moved to Fulham, Arsenal are a bit short on defensive cover.[LNB]Wenger added: "We have done something - we bough Koscielny and we are still looking for one more body.[LNB]"Don't forget, last year we did not have Djourou available for the whole of last season.[LNB]"He will be available now so if we find one more player, we will be okay and will have the same numbers as last year."
