The media had been full of stories saying that he'd had enough of the Premiership, some even going so far as to say that he wouldn't be at Arsenal any more come the end of his 5 match ban. It seems that these reports were based mostly on the worried reactions of his friends after Monday's game. Henry and Bergkamp were clearly concerned, as was Wenger (Henry and Wenger were even rumoured to have gone to Vieira's house for talks late into the night). Patrick's friend and one-time Arsenal target Olivier Dacourt said that as he left the field the player said something in French to the effect of "that's it, I've had enough of the Premiership". And Emmanuel Petit, who knows exactly how Patrick feels, also voiced concerns that this could be the end of another Frenchman's Gunners career.

But now the man himself has spoken. And now that he's had a chance to calm down he's saying all the right things. "I can handle it. I will not be driven out. I am much stronger than that". The manager adds "I don't think he will leave. He is very down and frustrated but he wants to stay because he loves the club."

Hopefully that's the last we'll hear of the subject for a while (hopefully Patrick will be on best behaviour this Saturday!). Sadly, this has all overshadowed an excellent win over Liverpool. See reports page for our match reports and a list of links to those on other sites.