Toure lauds captain Gallas

Defender praises skipper's leadership skills

By James Dall   Last updated: 26th November 2007   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Toure lauds captain Gallas

Toure: Gallas respect

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Arsenal's Kolo Toure has hailed William Gallas' leadership skills following Saturday's 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic.

A resilient Wigan side restricted The Gunners to few chances before Gallas stepped up to head home with seven minutes remaining.

Boss Arsene Wenger opted to appoint Gallas as skipper for this season, despite Gilberto Silva captaining the side for much of last term.

And centre-back Toure has praised the 30-year-old's character, highlighting the respect he has earned from the younger members of the squad.

Fantastic

"When Titi (Thierry Henry) was here he was outstanding. Patrick (Vieira) was strong and Tony (Adams) as well," he said in The Mirror.

"I have played under some fantastic captains but I think William deserves to be mentioned among those names because he is such a strong figure.

"He has great maturity in a really young team and that's so important.

"The young players listen to him because they respect him so much.

"Both on and off the pitch, William is a really good captain. He is loud in the dressing-room, he has a big heart, and everything he says and does is for the team and that is the most important quality in a captain."