ANOTHER SENIOR Arsenal player has added weight to the concern expressed by former captain William Gallas over his side's continuing lack of appetite for the fight. Manuel Almunia has laid bare his frustrations at Arsenal's erratic form this season and insisted that his team-mates have to show greater strength of character.
The goalkeeper, who is vice-captain, was maddened by the 2-0 surrender at Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday night, the club's seventh defeat in all competitions this season, and he made it plain that the group as a whole had to dig deeper.
"We should have more character on the pitch, we need to stop being nice, be more aggressive and give more," he said, ahead of today's 12.45pm kick-off at Middlesbrough in the Premier League. "Seven defeats already is too many and that's why we are so upset. We are not happy with this season. We had some brilliant moments, for example (the Premier League wins) against Chelsea and Manchester United, but it is not enough. We are a bit far from the top of the league and last season we lost three games in the league. It's two, three too many defeats (this season)."
Almunia wore the captain's armband at Porto as Cesc Fabregas had a knee injury and his searingly honest appraisal echoes that of Gallas, who said in a controversial interview three weeks ago that Arsenal were "not brave enough in battle". Gallas went much further than Almunia when he revealed that there were rifts in the dressingroom and that one player, whom he did not name but was believed to be Robin van Persie, had proved a disruptive influence on and off the pitch. The manager, Arsene Wenger, took the captaincy from him and Gallas has since stewed in a sense of injustice.
"William has his opinion," Almunia said, "and it's for the players to react and give more for the following games. It's very simple. This is Arsenal, with thousands of fans. We have a big, big responsibility and we have to realise that. To wear an Arsenal shirt is a big value and we have to be worthy of the shirt. I was very frustrated after Porto because no matter what team we put on the pitch, everybody has to give more than they did. Every single player has to realise that the Champions League is the biggest competition in Europe. I don't care that we had already qualified for the next phase, it's a Champions League game and it's a big opportunity for every single player."
Almunia and his team-mates arrived back at Luton airport in the small hours of Thursday morning and yesterday was another day of travel, as they headed north to Middlesbrough. The club are unhappy that their gruelling schedule has been stretched further by an early Premier League kick-off, following a Wednesday night European away, but Almunia appreciates the pampered lot of the top modern professional and he has no time for complaint.
"It's not hard," he said. "The club gives us everything that we need. The only thing is that it's a bit boring because we spend so much time in a hotel room, but for the rest we fly on a private plane, we have the best hotels in Europe and we have everything. Every time we lose, we should feel responsible. The club makes every effort to spend money for us to be comfortable everywhere and we love to win for the club. I hope that everyone realises we need to give more on the pitch to stop us having another poor result against Middlesbrough."
