After leaving Arsenal the Grimster looked at many options including clubs in France, Japan, and Middlesbrough. He eventually opted for a 2-year deal with the American MLS club back in January.

But all did not go according to plan. There has been speculation that his leaving is connected with the US/UK war on Iraq, either a protest against that attack or a reaction to poor treatment of himself and/or his family over in the States. However the most recent entry in his diary (from his official site at icons.com, 24th March) says,

"It is perhaps not the best time for a French guy to be in the US at this moment now that the war has started. There may be some anti-French feeling in America but that has not been my experience so far. It is a difficult time for everyone and we shall just have to wait and see what happens over the coming weeks as to what effect the war will have. But at this moment I have not had any problems being a Frenchman in America."

Perhaps things changed quickly after he wrote that. Actually the most recent entry, dated the 7th of April, just apologises for not having written since the 24th March and promises a new entry soon (can't wait).

There has certainly been some anti-French feeling over the pond and my understanding is while Colorado is not the most reactionary state in the US, neither is it the most liberal. Thankfully England hasn't experienced much of that particular manifestation of bigotry (obviously, England in general and English football specifically are far from being free of racial prejudice). From an Arsenal perspective, anti-French feeling at a level that could make people want to leave the country would be a very bad thing indeed! (as an aside, why oh why are they talking about re-naming "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries"???? What's wrong with the proper name: "chips"?)

Statements from the club just say that the reason for Grimandi's problems are "family-related issues back in France". Given the vague nature of this, there is inevitable and understandable speculation that he is just looking for a good excuse for breaking his contract. But at the same time, if the reasons are "family issues" it is understandable that they might not be the sort of thing he wants to go public with.

The latest from the club (coach Tim Hankinson, 8th April) is that Grimandi is still under contract (to both club and league, as is the way in MLS) and contrary to rumour he has not yet returned to France and is still training with the Rapids. No more news on the reason, but he definitely has expressed a desire to return home.

Those quotes from the club, plus much more speculation about the affaire, can be found on the RapidsFan unofficial website.

Whatever the outcome, we wish the Grimster well in his post-Arsenal career and hope that he's back playing (for someone) before long. He may not have had the skill of a Gilberto or Edu but he was a key squad member through the first few years of Wengerdom.

Many thanks to our long-time Arseweb correspondent in the States Lawrence for alerting us to this news.

Incidentally, there were reports a couple of weeks ago that Robert Pires had threatened to go on strike over the attack on Iraq. He flatly denied it, saying that his comments against the action had been misinterpreted and that while he was strongly opposed to it, he did not see a connection between that and his job at Arsenal.