The very peculiar Lassana Diarra reportedly dropped himself from Arsenal's Carling Cup semi-final with Tottenham on Wednesday.
According to The Guardian, Diarra was so 'preoccupied with his proposed transfer away from Arsenal' that he spoke to manager Arsene Wenger 'after training on Tuesday and suggested it would be in everybody's interests if he were left out of the team.' Ironically it is a perceived lack of first-team opportunities that has resulted in the 22-year-old midfielder demanding a move to his fourth club in four years. A victim of Mathieu Flamini's unexpected improvement, Diarra has only started four Premiership games since joining the Gunners in the summer. However, the ordinary display of Denilson and another abysmal showing from Gilberto Silva against Tottenham should have been sufficient to persuade Diarra to bide his time.
Nonetheless, The Guardian claims he 'cannot countenance losing his place in the France team for Euro 2008' and the youngster is not short of admirers. Portsmouth, Tottenham and Newcastle are leading the chase for his services and, according to the newspaper, the Toon 'agreed a £5.5m deal on Wednesday but shied away when Diarra demanded a four-year contract worth £18m.'
Diarra's departure would further reduce Wenger's options ahead of the visit of Birmingham. Both Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos are rated as doubtful while Robin van Persie, in addition to having suffered a reoccurrence of his thigh strain, has been laid low by flu.
