The Grimster has always been, and continues to be, positive about his years at Arsenal. "I'll never forget my time at Highbury and the warmth I felt from the fans and the people who work at the club." But he wants first team football, and hinted last week that he was upset to be left out of the 16 man squad for the North London derby last weekend.

Grimandi feels that he's won the respect of the fans after a dodgy start, and we trust that he's right, in the main. He's still got his critics, but you can't expect every player in the squad to be the subject of £20million bids every week. Grimandi has never been more than a useful squad player, but he has been a very useful one. He might even have stood out if he'd been being compared to, say, the midfield of the later Graham years, rather than Vieira, Petit, Pires, Ljungberg, etc.

Incidentally, Frank De Boer's latest diary (also on icons.com) says that he would definitely play for Arsenal (but not Newcastle). He's likely to leave Barcelona but could stay in Spain. I've no idea if there's anything to the rumours which he is responding to, but someone who could play on the left and in the middle of defence would have been handy this year. But surely he's just a bit old for a Wenger purchase.