Toure criticises captain Gallas

Arsenal defender Kolo Toure has revealed captain William Gallas upset the squad with his petulant behaviour at Birmingham in February.

Gallas sat on the St Andrews pitch on his own long after the game had finished, clearly upset at the way his team had squandered the lead to draw 2-2.

Eduardo suffered a double fracture to his leg early in the match and Arsenal conceded a penalty with minutes left, after a mistake by defender Gael Clichy.

Gallas stood on the halfway line as James McFadden scored the penalty and it has been suggested Gallas's behaviour during that match caused Arsenal to lose momentum in the Premier League.

Toure said: "Gallas was really good for us at the start of the season but then after this Birmingham game he made a mistake, he knows that and we all tried to bring him back to the team and he came back well.

"When you make a mistake it is difficult after that, it was a really important part of our season."

Following the draw at Birmingham, Arsenal drew their next three Premier League games then lost at Chelsea, ending their chances of winning the title.

That run of results has led to speculation that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger might strip Gallas of the captaincy and Toure is happy to admit he would like the job.

He said: "I would be really, really proud to be captain. I am now one of the oldest players in the squad so naturally I feel like a captain and it doesn't matter if I have the armband or not.

"It is a decision for the manager and he is the only one who can make it."

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