Only he knows if he wanted to leave

It's a common perception that defender William Gallas was on the verge of leaving the club last season.

The Frenchman was stripped of the captaincy after publishing a rather controversial book which detailed some in-house squabbling within the Arsenal dressing room.

He also made an emotional protest after the match against Birmingham City when the team conceded a late penalty and drop two points.

But Gallas has turned his career around this season, forming a strong partnership with defender Thomas Vermaelen. And manager Arsène Wenger says that only Gallas knows if he really wanted to leave the club.

Wenger said: "Frankly I don't know [if he wanted to leave]. Only he knows because he never told me he wants to leave the club. But I never wanted to lose him.

"I didn't know how he would react to the situation but I think he deserves a lot of credit for the way he responded.

"He is today a better player and he is today the vice-captain of the French national team, so the decision to make him captain was maybe not too bad."

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