The longer things go without an indication that Robert Pires is staying, the more one tends to feel that he's on his way. Villarreal continue to claim that he's on his way there (their president Fernando Roig said so on the radio yesterday) and the rumours that Henry either persuaded Arsenal to offer him a 2 year deal, or persuaded Bobby to stay anyway, are looking more and more like wishful thinking. Personally, I'd be disappointed for Bobby if a relatively small club like Villarreal was the best that he could do. He had a disappointing start to the season but, like the team as a whole (which is surely no coincidence) he was looking sharp again towards the end of the season. If he does leave then I'm sure one of the abiding memories for most Gooners will be the awesome tackle on Patrick Vieira that led to the first goal against Juventus - just one more game-winning contribution in a long Arsenal career of them. Well, let's try at least to let that memory last longer than the sadder and more recent one, watching him trudge off the pitch in Paris as Wenger was forced to sacrifice him following Jens Lehmann's red card.

ClubCall goes as far as to claim that Pires has already had a medical at Villarreal.

Sol Campbell was yesterday considerably less than certain about committing his future to Arsenal. But contrary to how some will spin it, neither did he say he was likely to leave.

Following the Thierry Henry model of the last few months, Sol says he's not going to think about his future until after the World Cup.

"I don't know what will happen. We will have to wait and see. I am considering everything and I have to weigh up the situation with Arsenal. That's all I have to say about it for the moment. It's a question of getting the World Cup out of the way first."

Rumours continue, despite the Turkish club's denial, that Fenerbahce have made an offer. But if Sol wanted to leave (or if the club wanted to sell him, which seems unlikely unless we have a ready-made experienced signing to replace him) he'd surely have many more options. Of course, that may depend on his World Cup. If the Campbell from the West Ham game (and others) turns up in Germany rather than that from the Barcelona game then he might have better offers the fewer chances Eriksson gives him. Not that I'm questioning his ability - the Champs League final showed that maybe he can bounce back from his very disappointing season.

"No-one wants to talk after the Champions League final," adds Campbell.

Meanwhile, Ashley Cole continues to say thathe sees no reason to think that he won't be at the Arsenal next season. Why not?" he said, when asked whether he will be a Gunner next season, "I hope so, I've said it a hundred times." And he hinted that Henry's staying could be a factor in his decision.

"Playing with players like that, it's been a great joy. To have the thing in your mind that he could have gone is sad and disappointing. Knowing he's staying is great for the players, the staff and the fans of Arsenal football club."

Those are the big 3 potential departures, but there could of course be surprises on that front as well. The arrival of Rosicky (and that, in effect, of Theo Walcott) means that many are predicting the departure of another attacking player. Jose Antonio Reyes looks the favourite for this, presumably based upon the fact that not many seem to believe him when he says he's settled in and is happy now in London. Personally, I could imagine Lauren being on the move too, if we can get a good fee for him now. But he's said that he wants to stay and fight for his place with Emmanuel Eboue and while we do have plenty of midfielders now, we're possibly a bit light on the defensive side of things (ie cover for Gilberto) so which is a role that surely Lauren could perform better than most.

As for the bit-part players, a departure or 2 is inevitable, but perhaps just for loan spells. Onw who may be on his way permanently though is Sebastian Larsson. He's looked useful, but probably not good enough to break through. He finally had a first team chance at left-back but while he looked as good as anyone at that point, Wenger decided he wasn't the answer and experimented to magnificent effect with Mathieu Flamini instead. It seems that Larsson will now have to move on to get first team football and he has been linked with a move to Sweden.

On the loan front: last year it was Justin Hoyte, perhaps it's Kerrea Gilbert's turn. Or perhaps Hoyte will have gotten a taste for regular first team play.