Arsene Wenger hopes Arsenal fans show William Gallas the respect he deserves should their former captain face his old club tomorrow - but defended the decision to strip the controversial Frenchman of the armband.

The 33-year-old left Emirates Stadium at the end of his contract during the summer, before then joining arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Gallas had something of a colourful Arsenal career after he moved from Chelsea as part of the deal for Ashley Cole in August 2006.

After being installed as skipper following the departure of Thierry Henry, Gallas famously broke down in the centre-circle at Birmingham City after a match which had seen Eduardo suffer a broken leg before, in November 2008, he publicly questioned the spirit of Wenger's young side.

That outburst prompted Wenger to replace Gallas as captain with Cesc Fabregas, but the Arsenal manager maintains there can never be any question over the veteran defender's commitment on the pitch.

When Gallas was on the pitch he gave 100 per cent for the team and that is what you want to respect.
Arsene Wenger on William Gallas

"When Gallas was on the pitch he gave 100 per cent for the team and that is what you want to respect," Wenger said. "After the statements exactly word by word is always a much more sensitive subject.

"But what I look at is just how much does the guy want to win, how much is he committed when he plays and on that front you can never fault Gallas because he was always 100 per cent committed when he played."

Wenger added: "You are responsible for your own behaviour and not for the behaviour of other people. I think the basics of our attitudes at the club has always been to respect other people. We cannot dictate how other people behave, we just want ourselves to respect him."

While the reception Gallas would receive will be under scrutiny, much of the other pre-match hype has been over just how Arsenal will cope with the threat of Gareth Bale, who helped rip Inter Milan apart in their recent UEFA Champions League clash.

While Wenger accepted it would be "important to keep Bale quiet", the Arsenal manager does not want to lose sight of the overall picture. "Tottenham have many good players in their team and for us it is important we produce a good team performance and not to focus on a single player out in their team," he said. "We should just focus on our performance, if our performance is right, as I think it will be, then we have a good chance to win."

Arsenal can, for a few hours at least, go above Chelsea to top the Premier League should they once again beat their fierce rivals at home. "It is a big motivation for us because we have created a momentum, and have won five of the last six," said Wenger.

"We are the stage of the season now where we just want to go from game to game and get the points into our account, then see where we stand after. I always said since the first six games that it looks like the most consistent team will be rewarded."