MX23RW : Wednesday, April 24 03:22:04| >> :120:14077:14077:

On this day: William Gallas signs for Tottenham Hotspur

On this day in 2010, defender William Gallas left Arsenal to move to fierce North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

When William Gallas left Chelsea to join Arsenal in 2006, the move caused plenty of controversy, with Chelsea claiming that the Frenchman threatened to score own goals if he was denied a transfer.

Four years later, in 2010, Gallas proved once again that he wasn't afraid to cause a bit of friction between London's top clubs with a surprise move to Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Gallas's time at the Gunners was a rocky one having been instantly handed the number 10 shirt, which had been previously worn by Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp.

But Gallas recovered to enjoy a distinguished time with the Gunners, becoming a mainstay of their defence over his four-year stay at the club, going on to make 140 appearances for Wenger's outfit.

However, despite Arsenal's willingness to offer the versatile defender another deal, his contract demands were described as "unreasonable" by then-chairman Peter Hill-Wood and the former Marseille man left the club.

William Gallas of Arsenal in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers at The Emirates Stadium on January 20, 2010© Getty Images

With Gallas attracting interest from several big clubs from around Europe, it was revealed that the Frenchman had agreed to move to White Hart Lane, becoming the first player to play for Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs.

The transfer received a mixed reception from Tottenham's supporters, but Gallas warmed himself to them by insisting that his new club were capable of winning the Premier League title during his first season with the club.

Gallas made his debut against West Bromwich Albion in September, but his stock at the club rose considerably when he captained Spurs to a famous 3-2 victory over his former side at the Emirates Stadium.

Tottenham were also enjoying an outstanding run in the Champions League, and Gallas starred as Spurs defeated AC Milan in the second round, before they lost to Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

The France international had made a huge impact during his opening season, and he was rewarded with a new two-year deal at the club, which he promptly accepted.

William Gallas of Tottenham is chased by Alex Song of Arsenal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on November 20, 2010© Getty Images

However, after signing the deal, injuries began to take their toll on the defender, and he was restricted to just 19 appearances during the following season.

That was just half the number that he had played in the previous year, and his role at the club became even less during the 2012-13 season, playing just 17 matches in the Premier League.

Gallas's decreasing activity was enough for manager Andre Villas-Boas to opt against offering his player an extended stay at the club, and he departed having made 72 appearances over three seasons.

Despite the season having gotten underway, the 36-year-old is still a free agent, with his name being linked with a surprise move to Crystal Palace.

But despite entering the final years of his career, and if his fitness issues can be managed, there would be little surprise if the former France international made one final move to a top club somewhere in Europe.

ID:99961: cacheID:99961:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5706:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Steaua Bucharest's Vlad Chiriches celebrates equalising against Chelsea on March 14, 2013
Read Next:
Report: Spurs eye Romanian defender
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Munar
Borges
10am
Navone
Popyrin
10am
Vukic
Daniel
10am
Bouzas Maneiro
Badosa
10am
Davis
Sherif
10am
Putintseva
Yuan
10am
Stephens
Trevisan
10am
Zhu
Jimenez Kasintseva
11.30am
Altmaier
Landaluce
11.30am
Rinderknech
Shevchenko
11.30am
Safiullin
Seyboth Wild
11.30am
Arango
Anisimova
11.30am
Sorribes Tormo
Pera
11.30am
Zhang
Rogers
12pm
Osaka
Minnen
12pm
Vekic
Siegemund
1pm
Darderi
Monfils
1pm
Karatsev
Marozsan
1pm
Van Assche
Bergs
1pm
Linette
Cocciaretto
1pm
Wang
Tomova
1pm
Wang
Dolehide
1.30pm
Dart
Bucsa
1.30pm
Raducanu
Lourdes Carle
2.30pm
Bronzetti
Gracheva
2.30pm
Frech
Cristian
2.30pm
Hibino
Krueger
3pm
Coric
Hassan
3pm
Kokkinakis
Draper
3pm
Nakashima
Bagnis
3pm
Van De Zandschulp
Eubanks
4pm
Baptiste
Saville
4pm
Bejlek
Blinkova
4pm
Errani
Wozniacki
4pm
Montgomery
Avanesyan
4.30pm
Klein
Llamas Ruiz
4.30pm
Burel
Danilovic
5pm
Moutet
Shang
5.30pm
Diaz Acosta
Shapovalov
6pm
Andreeva
Townsend
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool33228375324374
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves33127144653-743
12Fulham34126165054-442
13Bournemouth33119134860-1242
14Crystal Palace3399154256-1436
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton33108153448-1430
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3337233188-5716


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!