Fabregas to captain Gunners - Sport in brief - Evening Standard
       

Fabregas to captain Gunners

William Gallas will return to the Arsenal squad for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev at Emirates Stadium, but has been replaced captain by Cesc Fabregas.

The controversial defender was axed from the trip to Manchester City on Saturday, which Arsene Wenger's men lost 3-0 as their Barclays Premier League title hopes were dealt another blow, after publicly making critical remarks about the team and questioning their fighting spirit.

Although the Arsenal manager refused to discuss the reasons behind the player's absence, Wenger confirmed Gallas would be reinstated, but not in a leadership role, saying: "William will play against Kiev, but the captain of the team will be Fabregas."

He continued: "I do not think I have to especially explain why I make the decisions, but it is a permanent thing."

Wenger felt it had been an "interesting" few days for Arsenal, whose season is threatening to unravel.

He said: "When you do not win, nobody jumps off the roof, but the frustration does kick in.

"It is a good opportunity now for us to show we have strength and ability - you know how it works, you go from fantastic to a catastrophe, but real life is somewhere in between."

Wenger insisted: "So even if we are at the moment frustrated, it is not all doom and gloom. We have a strong belief in our ability and we have a good opportunity to show we care about the club and that we can qualify."

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