Right, well plenty to get through this morning ahead of tonight's game against Kiev and obviously the main story is the fact that Cesc Fabregas is the new Arsenal captain.

Arsene Wenger made the announcement at his pre-match press conference yesterday, confirming that it was a permanent thing but at the same time refusing to give any details about previous captain Gallas, beyond the fact that he would play tonight. Despite some intense badgering from various journalists he refused to be drawn on the reasons behind his decision, saying only:

I have given you information but I do not have to explain to you why I make these decisions. This subject is now closed. You have to respect a little bit of the team’s privacy.

Gotta love that last line, aimed as it was at both the journalists and probably Gallas too. It's a big decision to have made and the boss is being pragmatic in including Gallas in the team tonight. He needs him as a player. I think if Toure and Sagna had been fit he'd be much more inclined to have let Gallas sit on the bench, or even at home, but needs must at the moment and I still think, despite some comforting words from the manager, his long term future at the club is very much in doubt.

But away from Gallas and on to the new captain of Arsenal Football Club. To me he was the only choice and I'm glad Wenger has made it. It's a great lift for the fans in difficult times and I'm sure it'll be a lift to the players too. Cesc said:

It is a great honour for me to captain one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is a proud moment. I know it's a big responsibility but together with my team-mates, I know we have the spirit and commitment to get back to winning ways and fulfil our potential.

He has received the backing of Gael Clichy (who also has words for Gallas) and I think most fans will be right behind the choice of Cesc as captain. But while we all hope this will provide the kind of spark that will get our season going, and even perhaps get his own season going, let's be under no illusions that he faces a difficult time - at least for the first few weeks of his captaincy. This is a step in the right direction, not an instant cure for what ails us.

The team is struggling for form and beset with injuries (Nasri and Diaby are both added to the sick list for tonight's game) and until the manager can get the chequebook out and add to the quality of the squad in January then things are going to be tough. We need to show proper Arsenal spirit, we need every single player on the team to give 100% for 90+ minutes, egos need to be left at the door on the way in, we need to start playing as a team and less like a group of individuals who are having a kick around for the first time.

This is part of Cesc's job now. To unite the players for the Arsenal cause. And it is a lot to ask anybody, let alone a 21 year old, but I'm confident he can do it. He's never been afraid to speak his mind, to stick up for himself or his teammates, to get involved and he is a winner. He has that drive that we've been missing a bit this season. We've given him the ultimate responsibility as a player at Arsenal, we've asked a lot of him, but at the same time the club has to do likewise. Cesc is a once in a lifetime talent, the kind of player any manager would like to build his team around, now Arsene has to ensure that we bring in the kind of players who will not just help Cesc flourish as captain and player, but the rest of the team too.

I think he can be an excellent captain and we know what a brilliant player he is but it's too much to ask him to be brilliant without help. He needs a quality experienced partner alongside him, someone who will help get the best out of him, and we all know where else we need players. As much as Cesc now has a responsibility to Arsenal, Arsenal has a responsibility to him.

His appointment will be also be popular with the players and that's important. It's clear that more than a couple have personal problems with Gallas and while it's certainly right to point some fingers at them if there's a lack of professionalism on their part you have to address the root of the problem and Wenger has done that. I still think this is a decision that should have been made during the summer but it's definitely a case of better late than never.

So captain Cesc will lead his team out for the first time tonight knowing that a win will see us through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. We know Kiev generally don't travel well but Arsenal are down to the bare bones, some suggesting that Fran Merida could start on the left hand side of midfield tonight. With Eduardo and Rosicky obviously still out we won't have Adebayor, Toure, Eboue, Walcott or Sagna as well as the aforementioned Nasri and Diaby for tonight's game.

With Gallas in the team I think he'll play in the middle with Sylvester with Djourou at right back. In the midfield we could see Merida on the left and Ramsey on the right hand side with Denilson and Cesc in the middle. I wouldn't be surprised if Vela got a start tonight either with Bendtner and his ridiculous pink boots missing out.

A win tonight would help restore some confidence ahead of what is going to be a massive game this weekend against Chelsea. It'd get Cesc's reign as Arsenal captain off to a good start and help mend the growing rift between the fans and the team. Nobody likes to be negative, nobody likes to see the team in the doldrums, and hopefully with Cesc leading the boys out tonight it'll help improve the atmosphere all round.

The OleOle graphics guys have done up a Captain Cesc wallpaper for you to download in various sizes, so smarten up your desktop this morning.

More reaction from Paul Davis, Gunnerblog, RedAction

So, here's to Captain Fabtastic, may he develop a terrible withered elbow from lifting too many trophies. Come on Arsenal.

The thing about this time of the year is that there is little time between matches, meaning we could all feel a bit better come Wednesday morning. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about really.

Ahead of the game against Kiev Arsene has hinted that Gallas could return to to the squad and perhaps the team. There are those who would say that despite his enormous big mouth Gallas is the best defender we have and for the sake of results should play. I would suggest that even if he is the best defender we have he has played his part in some of the poorest games of the season so to bring him back is no assurance of a good result.

I suppose a lot depends on the fitness of Kolo Toure. If he's available then it's easier to leave Gallas out. If Sagna was fit then it's easier to leave Gallas out. Personally I wouldn't have him near the team again, I'd sell him in January and go spending for a new centre-half, or two. But Wenger is very forgiving to his favourites sometimes and to me it looks like Gallas is one of those.

I can understand the manager's predicament. He'll see Champions League qualification as more important than principle. He'll consider next weekend's game against Chelsea as more important than principle. In the very short term there's nothing more important than the next game but longer term you've got to show that actions have consequences and giving Gallas what boils down to a day off for what he's said is hardly an example to anyone else whose behaviour is poor.

We'll see what happens and there is a mandatory UEFA press conference which takes place the day before every Champions League game. What he's asked and what he chooses to answer at that today could be very interesting.

What's also interesting is who will captain the side tomorrow. I'm with Amy Lawrence on this one, the next captain of Arsenal has to be Cesc Fabregas. Yes, it's a lot to ask of the young man - to take over as captain when the team is going through one of the worst periods on the pitch for a long time. But Cesc is not somebody who feels that kind of pressure. You don't come into a team like Arsenal at just 17 and play that way if you let pressure get to you. Wenger can talk all he wants about how he wants 11 leaders on the pitch but every team needs a figurehead. Every group of players needs somebody that will lead them, that they respect, that they will go that extra mile for.

Cesc is that player. He might be just 21 but he is vastly experienced, extremely popular within the squad (whereas Gallas has always been a bit of an outsider and loner) and for me, most importantly, he has a real and deep connection with Arsenal football club, something I think is really important. Gallas never had that, he would never have it. That's hardly his fault, it's just a fact. Cesc understands what's special about the Arsenal. He has grown up at our football club, he learned from players like Vieira, Henry, Pires and Keown about what it means to be an Arsenal player.

He has the spirit and the ability to lead and solidify this group of players. Yes, he is struggling with his form this season but every player struggles with form from time to time. He is a world class player with great standing within the game already. Giving him the captaincy is not simply a way of fending off the inevitable advances from Spain either. It's a way of rejuvenating this Arsenal team until we can bring in reinforcements in January. It's like turning over on to a fresh blank page in a book, ready to write the next chapter.

The team needs a lift, the fans need a lift, some kind of spark to get things going again and making Cesc captain would do just that. It's a decisive moment for Arsene Wenger. Giving the captaincy to Almunia makes no sense whatsoever. Age is no reason to dictate the captaincy. He can't give it to Kolo Toure if Kolo Toure can't get into the team, and if it were to have been Kolo then it would have happened before now. If he gets this one wrong, and I think giving it to anyone but Cesc would be wrong, then it's a decision he may well regret.

So, another week begins and it's a big one. Victory tomorrow night against Kiev assures us of qualification for the knock-out stages of the Champions League and that would be a boost for all concerned. Then next Sunday we travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea. So it's a massive 6 days for the club. 

Fingers crossed we find ourselves in better form next Monday than this. 

Morning all, hope we find you well this Saturday.

While there's been no official confirmation from the club the fact remains that William Gallas is no longer the captain of the club. He is not in the squad to face Manchester City today which should tell you just how Gallas is viewed at the moment. The squad is down to bare bones but there's still no place for him.

I think Arsene made the right decision yesterday. Gallas simply had made his career as captain untenable. He might well have done the same with his playing career at the club too. His outburst was extraordinary, plunged the club into the kind of media frenzy it does its utmost to avoid at all times, and the consequences had to be brutal and swift.

What was unclear yesterday was why he gave this interview. What emerged during the morning that the interview took place as part of the publicity to launch Gallas's autobiography in France. The more cynical amongst you might speculate that some controversial comments would generate some publicity for Gallas and the book. Maybe he didn't think what he said was that bad (remember, there are points he made that were valid, even in my opinion!) but when a passage from the book revealed a furious bust-up with a player called 'S' while on international duty, and that player was revealed to be Samir Nasri, then you really have to question his intelligence.

Why do footballers feel the need to write autobiographies when they're still playing? Surely the best thing to do is wait until your career is over then you can write about who you want, when you want, and the only problem you might have is at your 25 year Euro2008 reunion dinner. When you start creating problems within the team you're captain of then it's grossly stupid. If I were a football manager I would put a clause in players contracts forbidding them from writing biographies while still playing for the club. Otherwise we will continue to swerve off the road at their idiocy.

But the book is secondary. Gallas has never been a convincing captain and the comments made about his teammates were the straw that broke the camel's back. Again you could be cynical and suggest he made them to put an end to his Arsenal career. It's not like he doesn't have previous, his exit from Chelsea was unseemly and undignified and it looks like his Arsenal career is going to end the same way.

There are no hard facts this morning. The Sun says Gallas has been told he is 'free to leave' the club. They quote one of those old reliable 'close family friends' who said:

“Arsene told him ‘If you don’t want to be in my team then just go. You are free to leave’. William was shocked at the outburst and went straight home. He simply doesn’t know what will happen to him. He’s very down."

It's hard to see how he can continue at the club in any way, to be honest. He has betrayed the rest of the players by making public things which happen in the dressing room and that won't easily be forgotten. But he's also a French international who is worth some money. It will be interesting to see if the club hold on and try and sell him in January or if some agreement is made which sees his contract cancelled and he leaves as a free agent. Given the circumstances you feel it might be worth taking the financial hit and getting him out of the club as quickly as possible.

What will be most interesting is seeing what kind of comment the club and the manager has to make on the situation. We've had a brief snippet (in that Sun article) from the chairman who talks about not making things public but that could have come from any time in the recent past.

I'm sure Arsene will feel betrayed by Gallas. He made him captain, he put more faith in him and backed him more than he probably should have, perhaps feeling that giving Gallas responsibility might change the man, but Gallas was always too old to change. Or not intelligent enough to cope with the pressures of the job. So while I'm glad Arsene has done this now it's a case of better late than never because this is a decision he could easily have made in the summer. It's a decision he should have made in the summer.

Now, it feels like a big thing. It feels important, really important. Almost like a weight has been lifted from our shoulders and we can move on. Goodplaya's point is good, the removal of Gallas does not solve all our problems, not by a long way, but this certainly does feel like a step in the right direction. I felt the position of Gallas as captain made it difficult for Wenger to drop him as a player when he should have been dropped. There is no such problem now.

So it's up to the rest of the players to show what they're made of today. I know that some of them did not take to Gallas as captain, and like the rest of us footballers can be petty, spiteful individuals at times. Imagine you have a team leader at work who you actively dislike, you don't do your best work for them, do you? The same thing goes for footballers which is why the choice of the next captain is absolutely crucial. You know who I think should get it but I'll write something on that in another blog in the days ahead.

Today it'll probably be Almunia with the armband as we take on Manchester City. The squad, as I said above, is threadbare and how we line up is going to be interesting. I suspect we're going to see Sylvester and Song as the centre-halves, Djourou at right back and I think Aaraon Ramsey will come into the midfield. There are doubts about Adebayor apparently so we'll have to see how we line up but a five man midfield with Ramsey, Denilson, Diaby, Nasri and perhaps van Persie playing off the main striker wouldn't be a surprise.

It's almost like a new era for the team now. Soon it will have a new leader, in January I am quite sure it's going to have new players, but there's plenty of football to be played between now and then. The lads out there today have to show they're Arsenal players, they have to show they can perform when backs are against the wall, perhaps they need to prove a point to the former captain, but what's undeniable is that they need a good result today.

Goodbye Gallas, hello the future. Come on Arsenal!

More tomorrow.

I'm told by a reliable source that William Gallas is no longer the captain of Arsenal.

No decision has been made yet about who will replace him. I'm sure we'll get more on this story in the next 24 hours. He is also reportedly out of tomorrow's squad to face Man City although that's yet to be confirmed.

Comments on this can be left on today's earlier post.

Well just when you thought things couldn't get much worse up pops William Gallas to open his enormous mouth and spark a raft of headlines which we really didn't need.

In an interview which appeared in the Associated Press and spread like the plague to every news service on the planet Gallas criticised his team-mates, described in-fighting in the squad, questioned (with a straight face it seems) the bravery of his colleagues and generally started the kind of shit storm we would stand back laughing hilariously at if it happened at any other club.

Maybe he was trying to motivate others but if that's what it was meant to do then it will have failed miserably. And while some of what he spoke about has some merit the more you read what he said the more it appears that his motivation was entirely personal and not for the benefit of the club.

I think the point he made about players being 'warriors' and 'brave' is a good one. However, when it comes from a man who chickened out of a challenge at Fulham and cost us the goal which lost us the match it's a bit hard to take. Still, the point itself is valid. His point about how well paid the young players are might have them resting on their laurels is a good one. I spoke about this on the blog earlier this week. That if your pay is not dependent on your performance then you'll get lazy and I think that's a real issue in the squad.

But any decent points he had to make were made useless by some of the most astonishing and unprofessional comments ever made by an Arsenal player, let alone an Arsenal captain. Let's go through some of them. Talking about an incident that happened in what appears to be the Sp*rs game this season he said:

When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player ... complaining about him ... and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us. There comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen.

I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I'm taking it all (the blame). It's very frustrating. I'm 31, the player is six years younger than me.

You can speculate yourself but the consensus is that he's talking about Robin van Persie. Now firstly, players argue all the time. At every level of football they do it, it's normal. But these fights are generally forgotten once the match is over and certainly weeks later it does nobody any good to bring it back up again. Whoever the player in question is they're going to be pissed off today and it's not good for the squad to have to relive old arguments.

Secondly, you have to question Gallas's motivation here. Why is he making this public? From what I can see it's not to try and heal any rift, it's so he can stop himself being blamed. And it smacks of paranoia. He's had his critics this season, I've been among them, but when you're the captain of a side, the most experienced defender and you're part of a defensive unit that is shipping goals all over the place then you have to expect some criticism. I don't think anyone blamed Gallas for anything that wasn't his fault. The goals against Fulham and Bolton in particular stand out due to the way he shirked responsibility. So he has rightly been criticised in my opinion.

Thirdly, this kind of stuff should just never have been made public. The papers, radio and TV are loving this. At a time when the club is suffering on the pitch more than it ever has under Arsene Wenger you need everyone to pull together, not for one loose cannon to start stirring things up like this. You wouldn't expect this kind of thing from an inexperienced youth player so far a 31 year old international and captain of a club like Arsenal to go public like this is just 100% wrong.

His motivation was clear to see again when he said:

I have to win something this year. I have to win something, Arsenal has to win something.

The fact that he said 'I have to win something' first tells you all you need to know about the man, I think. Then when asked if he would still be at Arsenal next season, he said:

We will have to see. We don't know what will happen between here and then.

Inspiring stuff from the club captain, don't you think? I have maintained from the start that I thought Gallas was a bad choice of captain. From the way the announcement was made (Gilberto finding out via the internet that Gallas had been picked ahead of him) the whole thing has been an unmitigated disaster, in my opinion. Yes, he did well enough up until Birmingham last season but it's easy to be the captain of a winning team, a team that's full of confidence, flying through games at home and in Europe. It's when things go wrong that you get a measure of someone's ability as captain and when things went wrong Gallas was found wanting.

The Birmingham game should have been enough to tell Arsene Wenger he was the wrong man for the job. Yes, we all get emotional but it was dereliction of duty so epic, so juvenile, that a change should have been made this summer (if not immediately). You look at the cringeworthy team-talk against Chelsea when a clearly disinterested and uncomfortable squad squirmed at his attempts to gee them up. That he didn't have the wherewithal to get Sky's TV cameras out of the way as he did it is another example of his complete lack of self-awareness.

He just isn't a captain and I suppose it's not really his fault. He's been asked to do a job that he is just not suited for. He has tried, and failed, and failed again, but he is not and never will be a captain. He doesn't have the personality for it and his botched attempts at leadership are damaging the team.

You then have to look at Arsene Wenger and his insistence in keeping Gallas as the man with the armband. He has to take his share of the blame for this situation. He has hinted at being aware of the poor performance of his captain as captain, talking about having '11 leaders on the pitch'. But then too many cooks spoil the broth, as they say. Arsene has made mistakes in the past, poor substitutions, poor transfers, but I think the Gallas captaincy has been the biggest mistake of his Arsenal career.

From the way it happened, which caused some turmoil within the squad who were expecting the well-liked and highly-professional Gilberto to be made skipper, to his continued backing of Gallas as both a player and captain when he has struggled with both roles. The captaincy has made it difficult to drop Gallas the player and it was Kolo Toure who made way despite the fact it Gallas's form was worse.

Former Gunner Perry Groves has given his reaction to the latest outburst from Gallas and says:

Gallas has been an absolute disgrace. He has brought into disrepute all the great Arsenal captains of the past.

Arsene Wenger has to take some responsibility because he is the one who made him captain. He should take the captaincy off him.

Those are some seriously strong words and I don't think I've ever heard such stinging criticism of any Arsenal player, let alone an Arsenal captain. I know people have accused me of having an anti-Gallas agenda and I will freely admit I don't like him and have never liked him. But this is my blog with my opinion and I'll always say what I think. It's not an agenda, it's just an opinion. I don't know what kind of agenda you could accuse Perry Groves of having, beyond being, like all of us, an Arsenal fan who is upset at seeing things which should be kept inside the club so clumsily aired in public.

For me this is the straw that broke the camel's back with Gallas. The manager has to take the captaincy away from him. If the consequences of that sees Gallas leave then so be it. You cannot tolerate the captain of your club behaving in this way. To try and point fingers at a teammate so less blame will be apportioned to yourself is so selfish and cowardly it's just not true. It's like telling on someone else in school so you don't get into as much trouble. That is not somebody who is thinking of what's best for the team, only what's best for himself. To reveal the in-fighting, allowing hungry journalists to get their teeth into the 'Arsenal in crisis/civil war' stories does nobody any good.

It's simply not acceptable and I don't know how Gallas expects to receive the backing of his teammates, the fans or the manager any more. No doubt we'll hear something today about 'I am fully behind Arsenal and blah blah blah' or some comment from Arsene about how 'William is a fighter' so I'm expecting my intelligence to be thoroughly insulted. All I know is that if I were the manager of the club and my captain came out with that kind of stuff I would take the armband off him the minute I removed my fucking boot from his arse.

The Gallas experiment has failed, Arsene. You thought you could make him a captain the way you made Lauren a full back or Kolo a centre-half but you couldn't. You humiliated one of our most professional and loyal players to do it. You stood by him when every bit of you must have known he was the wrong man for the job. Change it now or this team is going to continue to suffer under his rudderless attempts at on-pitch leadership.

He might be suspended for this weekend but give it to Cesc. It's time to give the young man a chance. Maybe it'll help lift him out of this funk he's in. Maybe the team will react well to having a new leader. And when January comes, Arsene, think long and hard about what's best for Arsenal Football Club, not what's best for your little experiments and projects.

More reaction from East Lower, Gunnerblog, Goodplaya and Goonerholic.

In other news this morning we've been linked with a move for Belgian midfielder Steven Defour. Kolo Toure is added to the injury list for the Man City game, he has a calf strain. We're already without Eboue, a suspended Cesc and, of course, Theo Walcott who will be missing for three months. Arsene's response was much less volatile than I had expected.

Now, time for this week's Arsecast. I'd love to tell you this will brighten up your day but given the state of the team and the Gallas stuff it's not exactly the most cheerful Arsecast of all time. I chat with the Man from East Lower about stuff and there's some other gloomy stuff in there too. I just wasn't feeling very funny this week (please insert your own joke about how I'm never funny anyway, it'll save me the time!).

You can subscribe to the Arsecast iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do so too. To download this week's arsecast directly - click here (16mb MP3) or you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.

As well as that there's a dedicated Arsecast hotline available all season long should you desire to make a comment, get something off your chest, share a song a chant or hilarious anecdote. Feel free to call it any time during the week, it'll go to voicemail and you can leave your message. The number from inside the UK is 020 3286 6360 or from outside the UK it's +44 20 3286 6360.

And that's that. It's enough, eh?