With the Gunners so short of numbers and quality in central defence, it may seem very strange to consider the injury of William Gallas a blessing. Should we not be bemoaning the loss of an established and experienced international defender? After all, this is a player who has imposed himself at the heart of trophy winning and world beating sides like France and Chelsea. Isn’t that the sort of player that a young Arsenal team is crying out for? Yes it is. So what’s the problem with our skipper?

When Gallas joined Arsenal in a swap deal with Ashley Cole, it looked like Arsene had worked his magic in the transfer market yet again. We had offloaded the slimy cheat, signed a world class centre half, and received a fair amount of money in the process. We had an equally prestigious talent at left back in Gael Clichy, and filled the void in the centre left by the departure of Sol Campbell.

So where has it all gone wrong? Gallas appears uninterested, sulky and a shadow of his former self. The tantrum at Saint Andrews last season is his most notable failure, but a series of constant and pathetic errors prove arguably more disturbing. His failure to seemingly win anything in the air was highlighted most recently with Daniel Cousin’s header in Hull’s victory at the Grove.

Gallas recently had the nerve to bemoan the fact that Arsenal lacked “a winning mentality”. As opposed to the winning mentality Chelsea had before the Russian money arrived? Gallas has what all of us would consider to be the greatest job in the world, captaining the Gunners. Yet he seems so ungrateful, almost as if he is doing us a favour by turning up every Saturday afternoon. His inconstency and poor form leads to other questions. Was he really as good as we (or he) thought he was in the first place? Did Terry and Caravalho hide his faults for him?

Whatever the answers to these questions, it will be intriguing to see how the Gunners fair without him in his forced absence. If Silvestre, Djourou or Song shore up the defense, what will Wenger do? If Arsenal begin to keep consecutive clean sheets, will the captain walk back into the team?

In conclusion, this short spell out may prove to be positive for Arsenal, and for Gallas himself. If he realises there is strong competition for places at the back, he may up his game, and that would surely be a good thing for everyone.