"I was so attached to the Club and everything that it brought me... Buying a flat in Highbury is a symbol of my affection for the Club. To have a flat on the ground where I once played, which holds so many fond memories for me is something very special."

It doesn't mean he's planning on moving back to London though (my first thought when I heard the news was that he might be going to do an Emmanuel Petit, until it occured to me that it'd be a strange place for a Chelsea player to live).

"I will use it when we stay with my family in London and later if my children want to study in London they will have a pied-à-terre." (hey Bobby, what's the French for "pied-à-terre"?).

He also speaks of his memories of the last ever game at Highbury, when we came back from behind to beat Wigan Athletic 4-2 and clinch a place in this year's Champs League, when Pires scored the opening goal.

"I think about that game quite often," he said. "It was the last match at Highbury and it was very emotional. Highbury was legendary. I'm proud to have scored a goal there at the last ever game."

Perhaps Sunday's comeback win over Wigan at Ashburton Grove was intended as the current squad's tribute to that day. Perhaps not.

The best Arsenal players, by definition, find it hard to stay away.

Ray Parlour has been reported as saying that, despite his signing for Hull City, he's planning on continuing to train with the Gunners. Hull are fighting for survival in the Championship and they're getting the Romford Pele on a pay-as-you-play basis.

"If I don't play I don't get paid. If my leg goes next week, then that's it for me. I'm probably going to train a lot with Arsenal. I've got a good agreement with the club [Hull, we presume] which we are all happy with. I'll be at Hull a couple of days before a game. I feel very fit and I will get fitter with games."

We're sure he'll do a great job for them and wish him nothing but the best. Ray had a lot of critics but suffered from comparison with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira. If his heyday had come a few years earlier he'd have been compared more with David Hiller and John Jensen. He did a vital job for Arsenal and scored a good few crucial and even spectacular goals. With the League Cup final against Chelsea coming up, one can hardly fail to think of the 2002 FA Cup final. "It's only Ray Parlour", indeed.

Another much-loved former player, in a similar way to Ray, is Perry Groves. His song is still being sung. And he can't stay away either. Not content with bigging up the club in the press (and his book) at every opportunity, Perry's going to games and was spotted hanging out in a Highbury pub after the game last Sunday.

On a sadder note, former Arsenal youngster Danny Karbassiyoon has been forced to announce his retirement from the game (as reported on a Burnley forum). He's been having knee problems and has been advised that if he keeps playing he can look forward only to a short career featuring regular operations. Very sad for the lad who never quite made it at Arsenal but who is obviously fondly thought of at Burnley. He was released by Arsenal in the summer of 2005, having played for the first team in the League Cup including the reserves away win at Man City, an early success for that competition's reserves-against-first-teams policy in which Danny came off the bench to score the winner. We hope that Arsenal will be inviting him back to the Emirates soon too.