GALLAS BACK TO ARSENAL

LONDON: Marcel Desailly insists William Gallas still has a future at Arsenal despite his blast at Arsenal's under-achieving stars.

Desailly knows Gallas well after playing alongside the Gunners star with France and Chelsea.

Gallas was stripped of the Arsenal captaincy by Arsene Wenger recently in the fall-out from his controversial comments and has cut an unhappy figure on the pitch at times since the incident.

But Desailly, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and the Euro 2000 title, believes Gallas was right to give Arsenal's youngsters a wake-up call and sees no reason why he shouldn't be able to stay at the Emirates Stadium.

"He had a point. He wanted his players to feel more concerned about the problems facing Arsenal. It is always the same players who get the pressure and attention," said Desailly, now a spokesman for the Premier League sponsors.

"When you are an experienced player you know what you are missing because you have won before. A young one doesn't know.

"He wanted to say 'come on guys, lets get out of this and have some responsibility'. It is good that he said it, even if it maybe wasn't the best time."

Gallas was dropped for Arsenal's 3-0 thrashing at Manchester City after his rant, but Wenger quickly restored him to the team and the Gunners responded with a win at Chelsea in which the centreback excelled.

It is that kind of performance that Desailly believes makes Gallas indispensable.

"The important thing is he is at the level we expect," Desailly said. "If you are a champion and a top player like he is, you should not worry about what he has said.

"In the next game I would want to show I am a top player no matter what people have said about me.

"For me there is no reason to think about Gallas leaving Arsenal next season."

While Arsenal have beaten Chelsea and Manchester United this season, they remain an outside bet to win the title for the first time in four years.

Wenger's decision to give his young players a chance rather than sign established stars has been blamed for their erratic form, but Desailly hopes Arsenal do win silverware this year to reward the Gunners boss for his commitment to youth.

"I would like Arsenal to achieve something to prove it is possible to win with young players," Desailly said. -- AFP

Arsenal Players Rating

Almunia - 6 -
He still looks slightly unconvincing at times when dealing with crosses, but came up with a fine reaction save to deny Melchiot in the second half.

Clichy - 6 -
He hasn't quite reached the heights of last season yet, and his defending was nervous at times. He also doesn't seem to go forward as much as he used to.

Toure - 6.5 -
Considering this was his first game in a while, he managed to hold fort against a very aggressive and physical Wigan line up.

Djourou - 7 -
Looks like the answer to Wenger's defensive woes, and seems to combine well with both Gallas and Toure. Again, was stretched by the Wigan attackers, but he showed character to keep his cool.

Sagna - 7 -
Was a good performance by the Frenchman, who now seems to be reaching the level Gunners fans are used to seeing him perform at.

Nasri - 6 -
Suffered another injury setback after he was hacked down by Palacios, but he linked up well with Van Persie and Clichy during his half-hour stay.

Song - 6.5 -
He's been on the end of a lot of criticism from Arsenal fans of late, but he put in a decent shift today. His height was the important factor for Wenger, and he distributed the ball tidily, especially in the second half.

Fabregas - 7.5 -
A very good performance by the Arsenal captain, who seems to be settling into his new role well now. His passing and vision was exemplary as usual, and he got into the opposition box on a number of occasions, something he should do more often.

Denilson - 6.5 -
Again played out of position, he worked hard, and also managed to hit the woodwork, but he still loses possession at times, and is muscled out of the challenge regularly.

Van Persie - 6.5 -
He didn't exactly carry on from where he left off last week, but he grew into the game as it wore on, and had a number of attempts on goal. Should have scored though.

Adebayor - 7 -
Arsenal's center forward pounced superbly on a loose ball for the only goal of the game, and even hit the post with a powerful shot late in the first half.

Substitutions

Eboue - 5 -
To be fair, the left wing isn't a natural position for a right back, and he didn't do all that badly until late in the second half when his confidence went for a complete toss after a few misplaced passes. The fact that the crowd got on his back didn't help at all.

Silvestre - 5 -
Brought on to provide defensive cover and experience, the few passes he made didn't inspire any confidence whatsoever.

Adebayor and Fabregas celebrating the forth goal
against Chelsea..-4-0..Arsenal win