Wed 27th Aug - Emirates Stadium
By Chris Burton Last updated: 23rd May 2008
Diarra: Short stay with Gunners
Arsene Wenger believes Lassana Diarra would have been given a chance at Arsenal had he bided his time.
The French midfielder joined the Gunners last summer, but after only 13 appearances decided the time was right to move on once more.
Worried that his place at Euro 2008 was under threat by a lack of first-team opportunities at Emirates Stadium, Diarra decided to join Portsmouth in January, a move which would ultimately see him lift the FA Cup.
Wenger, though, is adamant that the 23-year-old was wrong to jump ship so soon, especially as Mathieu Flamini has since departed for Milan.
"I came to the conclusion that Diarra could not cope with the fact that he was behind the other players here in midfield," the Gunners boss told the June edition of the official Arsenal magazine.
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"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.
Wenger added: "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."
Wenger has also defended his decision not to strengthen during the mid-season transfer window.
At the time the Gunners sat top of the Premier League, were still in the UEFA Champions League and had a number of players hitting top form.
Their subsequent slump was due to a combination of injuries and bad luck, and Wenger insists that no manager could have predicted the situation would deteriorate so quickly.
"The transfer window was open, but at the time I didn't feel we were in need of any more players," reflected Wenger.
"We had (Theo) Walcott and (Nicklas) Bendtner making big strides forward, and Eduardo was on form then and (Emmanuel) Adebayor on top form too. Overall when he is on fire, he scores in every game.
"I thought (Robin) van Persie would be back shortly, and also did not expect to lose (Tomas) Rosicky for so long either."
Wenger maintained: "You have to keep the balance right between having competition in the squad, and having too many players. The squad did not look light at any time."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Saturday 30th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Arsenal vs Newcastle |
| Saturday 13th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 20th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Bolton vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 27th September | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 17:30 | Arsenal vs Hull |
| Saturday 4th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Sunderland vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 18th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Everton |
| Sunday 26th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 16:00 | West Ham vs Arsenal |
| Wednesday 29th October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 20:00 | Arsenal vs Tottenham |
| Saturday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Stoke vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Arsenal vs Man Utd |
| Saturday 15th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Aston Villa |
| Saturday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Arsenal |
| Sunday 30th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 16:00 | Chelsea vs Arsenal |
| Saturday 6th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Wigan |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 27th August | |
| UEFA Champions League Qualifying | |
| Arsenal 4 - 0 FC Twente | |
| Saturday 23rd August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Fulham 1 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 16th August | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 1 - 0 West Brom | |
| Wednesday 13th August | |
| UEFA Champions League Qualifying | |
| FC Twente 0 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Saturday 9th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Arsenal 1 - 1 Sevilla | |
| Friday 8th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Ajax 2 - 3 Arsenal | |
| Wednesday 6th August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Huddersfield 1 - 2 Arsenal | |
| Sunday 3rd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Arsenal 1 - 0 Real Madrid | |
| Saturday 2nd August | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Arsenal 0 - 1 Juventus | |
| Wednesday 30th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| VfB Stuttgart 1 - 3 Arsenal | |
| Monday 28th July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Burgenland 2 - 10 Arsenal | |
| Tuesday 22nd July | |
| Friendly Match | |
| Szombathelyi Haladas 1 - 1 Arsenal | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Fulham | 2 | 3 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 2 | 3 |
| 15 | Arsenal | 2 | 3 |
| 16 | Stoke City | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 3 | 3 |
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