In The Zone – William Gallas

Chelsea  

Gallas’s former club, Chelsea, have never been far from the headlines over the last 12 months. The club has spent huge amounts of money in an attempt to rebuild, but they have struggled to build any real momentum, with the appointment of Mario Pocchentino not kickstarting the revolution in the way many expected.  

The former defender was quick to share his thoughts on the current situation: “When you look at the amount of money the club has spent under the new owners and the results on the pitch, the truth is that they have failed. Where are Chelsea in the table? That is not good enough for a club like Chelsea. Chelsea should be challenging the biggest clubs in the division, not languishing in eleventh after seven games.” 

Despite this, he did note that the team is very young and that it will need time to adapt, saying that they have too many young players right now and need some experience, especially at the back.  

He also found the time to highlight several players, praising Fernandes’s passing range, Colwill’s technical ability, and Mudryk’s raw talent. Talking about the latter, he said, “He makes everything look easy and plays the game at a tremendous pace”, adding that he believes he possesses all of the attributes to become a world-class player, even drawing comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.  

Mudryk’s pace compared to Ronaldo

Positive Vibes At Spurs  

Another Gallas’s former clubs that has had no problem settling into a new regime is Spurs. Tottenham have had an electrifying start to the campaign, with Ange Postecoglou’s team tearing up the division and playing entertaining football in the process.  

Talking of Ange’s impact, Gallas said: He has done a good job. I think he has brought something new to the club. Look at the way he speaks to the media and his players. He is really calm during the game, and he has shown a lot of human characteristics that a lot of people have responded well to. 

He built on this, saying that the players have shown that they want to fight for him and that everyone around the club right now appears to be very happy. He talked about how everybody is enjoying what is happening at Tottenham right now and how they are becoming everybody’s second favourite time thanks to their playing style and attitude.  

A large part of Tottenham’s success has been the performances of Son, with the Korean star really stepping in to fill the huge boots left by Harry Kane. On his excellent start to the season, Gallas said, “I think Son has really stepped up in the absence of Harry Kane. Replacing Kane’s goals would have been Tottenham’s biggest concern when he left. Son can score plenty of goals, but he didn’t produce what we know he is capable of last season, so there were always going to be doubts.” He finished by saying Son’s fitness will be essential to the club’s success, with the top four being a very viable target this season.  

Son has stepped up

 Arsenal vs Man City  

Over the last two seasons, Arsenal vs Manchester City has established itself as the biggest game in English football, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal looking to claim the club’s first Premier League trophy in two decades this year. The two sides will meet at the Emirates this coming weekend, and it promises to be the biggest test of Arsenal’s title credentials to date.  

Gallas, however, believes that Arsenal will still fall short of the title, even if they win this weekend. “The problem is that we have to compare them to last season. They dropped too many points, making silly mistakes. From what we’ve seen of Arsenal so far this season, it doesn’t look like they have improved.”  

He talked about how important Rodri’s role in the Man City team is and how he will be missed by Pep, but noted that Pep is a tactical magician and that he will find a way to make up for this absence.  

The former Arsenal star finished by saying that if Arsenal want to be taken seriously as title contenders, then they need to win this weekend, describing the game as a ‘great opportunity’ for the club.  

Guardiola and Arteta face-off again

 VAR  

Of course, no major discussion on the Premier League would be complete without mentioning VAR. The technology was at the centre of a huge discussion following Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Liverpool this season, with the PMGOL issuing an apology for wrongly ruling out a Luis Diaz goal.  

Gallas expressed his concerns about VAR and its future impact on the game. He noted that the initial intention of VAR was to help referees make the right decision, but it is failing to do that, adding that it is now right to question its role in the game moving forward.  

He also referenced the impact it has had on fans attending games and how it has damaged the atmosphere and removed the spontaneity of reactions. “We can’t even celebrate properly anymore when our team scores. We just want to watch the game and have a good time, you know.”  

Gallas also noted that the constant rule-changing makes life difficult for players, especially defenders. He highlights the new handball rules that have been introduced in recent years, saying that it “It really upsets me to look at the way defenders need to manipulate their body shape and put their hands behind their back to make sure they don’t hit the ball when they are making a block. It is impossible to defend properly when you have to put your hands on your back like that.” He added that the authorities seem to favour strikers and want the games to feature more goals.  

One idea that has been floated by pundits and fans is for former players to get involved in the game as a referee. Gallas found this laughable, insisting that a lot of former players are out of shape and want to enjoy their lives; he also joked that players would never want to deal with other players, saying that he could not imagine a world where former players would ever want to be a referee.