Even Harry Redknapp admitted that it might be a leetle bit tricky to keep hold of [Read the rest of this entry »]

Harry Redknapp has done brilliantly in the transfer market over the past few seasons. Landing the likes of James, Campbell, Defoe and Diarra have been a coup and it looks like [Read the rest of this entry »]

With Liverpool players expected back in training on July 7, manager Rafa Benitez will continue to put things in place for the coming season.

This week, a number of deals could well be sorted.
[Read the rest of this entry »]

Many people were surprised when Lassana Diarra’s frustration got the better of him in January, causing the midfielder to leave Arsenal and sign for Portsmouth where he was almost certainly guaranteed first-team football. Despite the best efforts of Harry Redknapp to massage the Frenchman’s ego at every available turn, it appears as though the player will be moving on again in the summer, although Arsene Wenger claims he only left the Emirates in a fit of panic and might have been a touch hasty to do so. Sporting Life reveals all:

“I came to the conclusion that Diarra could not cope with the fact that he was behind the other players here in midfield,” said the Gunners boss.

“I thought the best option was to let him go because I already had Denilson, [Abou] Diaby and Gilberto all trying to get into the team as well. It was a congestion.

“I bought Diarra in the summer because I thought Flamini might leave at the end of the season and if he was able to be patient, he would get his chance.

“It turned out he wasn’t capable of that. With Euro 2008 in mind, he panicked.

“I did explain when he joined that he might have to be patient, and he acknowledged it, but he couldn’t cope with the situation, and also did not want to go on loan anywhere either.”

Therefore, all those people who said Wenger made a mistake by not keeping hold of Diarra can now realise that the Arsenal manager was pretty much powerless when it came to keeping the diminutive midfielder. It’s interesting that Le Boss expected Flamini to shove off in the summer – do you think he’s regretting the release of Diarra considering his performances for Pompey in 2008?

Many have cited Arsene Wenger’s decision to allow Lassana Diarra leave in January as a reason why Arsenal lost some serious momentum in the Premier League title race. While it’s probably absurd to suppose that a squad player (albeit a very good one) was central to any hopes the Gunners had of winning the league, the Frenchman may well have been made to feel more welcome if Arsene Wenger had known that Mathieu Flamini was jumping ship to Milan before the season ended.

The Independent reveals that Diarra never felt as though he could please his former manager at The Emirates Stadium, despite what he felt were some very strong performances when he had the opportunity to play. The midfielder has a chance to be an FA Cup winner with Portsmouth this Saturday and doesn’t exactly have anything complimentary to say about his old club.

“I don’t think about Arsenal FC now, I am just focused on Portsmouth,” the 23-year-old Frenchman said as he prepared for Saturday’s FA Cup final at Portsmouth’s Hampshire training ground. “I left Arsenal because I wanted to play every week. When you are in the team, and even if you play well, the manager doesn’t put you on the pitch [for the next game] you have to do something. Every time he put me on the pitch I tried to do my best. For him, I don’t know if it was good enough, but for me…”

As we’ve pointed out in the past, Diarra certainly isn’t short of self-confidence and his performances in a Pompey shirt have been of a very high standard. Indeed, the Premier League outfit will be glad he’s in the team to face Cardiff, especially as a lack of firepower without the cup-tied Defoe means they might have to rely on winning by a solitary goal as they did in the semi-final against West Brom.

Did Arsene Wenger make a mistake in allowing Diarra to leave for the South Coast or was it a case of having his hands tied in so far as he couldn’t offer the player first-team football and the Frenchman wouldn’t hang around to try and hold down a place in the starting XI?

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Not content with snapping up the exciting Luka Modric for £16.5million, Tottenham are looking to bolster their midfield further by adding the Premier League journeyman Lassana Diarra to their ranks. The midfielder has already been on the books at Chelsea and Arsenal, before joining Portsmouth during the January transfer window. Many have suggested that if the player had stayed at the Emirates, they may have put up more of a title challenge.

The Guardian report that Spurs have been sniffing around Diarra for some time, while let’s remind you of the player’s loyal words upon joining Portsmouth.

“The people at Portsmouth know that I will not spend my life at the club,” said Diarra after completing his £5.5m move in January. “I was able to add a clause to my contract. If I shine, if a really big club wants me, I already know that everything will go well. I don’t want any more battles.”

The wheeler-dealer that is Harry Redknapp won’t led the midfielder leave without making a decent profit from the sale, that’s for sure. Diarra’s last efforts in a Pompey shirt might be helping them secure the FA Cup before flying the nest to join his fourth Premier League club in the space of a year. If Pot Noodle is the slag of all snacks, what does that make Lassana Diarra?

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Lassana Diarra wasn’t exactly complimentary about Portsmouth when he signed from Arsenal earlier this month, yet that hasn’t stopped the midfielder from receiving the plaudits from team-mates after a goal and fine all-round performance in his team’s 2-1 victory over Plymouth on Saturday. The Daily Mail reports that at least the Frenchman can finally start to feel appreciated at a Premier League club, albeit a ‘smaller’ one!

‘I know him from when were together at Chelsea,’ said Glen Johnson said: ‘He didn’t suffer it as long as I did but he has been down pretty much the same road as me.

‘We are happy to have him here and it is good for him to be playing every week. He is brilliant. He is like a young Makelele with pace.’

‘Chelsea and Arsenal don’t go for players who don’t have quality,’ reasoned Niko Kranjcar. ‘You don’t play for the Under 21s or the senior French team if you are not a quality player.

‘You take a step at a time in your career but your final goal is always to get as high as you can and do everything you can to achieve that.’

Will Diarra’s Fratton Park career be short-lived or will he still be a Pompey player this time next season? At least Harry Redknapp has a quality international player for the next few months as his club bid to land a UEFA Cup qualification place.

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The Guardian reckons that in training the day prior to Arsenal’s first leg encounter with Tottenham in the Carling Cup this week, want away midfielder Lassana Diarra wemt up to Arsene Wenger and asked to be dropped from the team for that game. His reasoning? He was unable to concentrate on the game with the miasma of transfer rumours hanging over his head…Hmm…Blaming transfer speculation, which has been pretty much of his own making…Nice!
The Guardian reports that:

“Diarra appears determined to leave Arsenal, little more than four months after joining them from Chelsea, and Manchester City would be his preferred destination. Newcastle did agree a £5.5m deal on Wednesday but shied away when Diarra demanded a four-year contract worth £18m. Tottenham remain interested, and Valencia in Spain have made him their top target, but as Diarra wrestles with the possibilities he is keen to reach a resolution by the end of the week.”

And although Diarra isn’t utterly disguested by the idea of staying at Arsenal, he knows that first team games are key to keeping a spot in the French Euro 2008 squad…

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