Congratulations Lassana Diarra: you are an idiot.

It's hard to know what to make of this whole Diarra business in some ways. Maybe he has a point after all; maybe, regardless of the form of other players, Diarra should have swanned into the first XI. After all, promises were made to him when he signed for the club. I wonder what other promises were made? Free happy-meals after every game? As much time on his xbox as he likes? Bi-weekly trips to Euro Disney? Because I'm pretty sure Arsene would not make the promise to any signing that, regardless of how other players are doing, a new signing will get unlimited first team playing time. I should imagine that Arsene said he'd give him a fair chance, which he has.

So, really, the conclusion one has to draw is that Diarra is an idiot. Not willing to stay and prove himself at Chelsea, he's waited precisely three months to declare that we are not worthy of him. His imperator-esque abilities demand playing time, and he will not be fobbed off. (at least in his own mind.)

His avowed reason is that he's worried about his place in the French squad for the European championships; but given he's been in the French squad for some time now, even with limited playing time at us and Chelsea, it seems unlikely that Domenech is suddenly going to decide to drop him, is it? And even if he was not to make the squad for the next championships, he's only 22: he has ten years of international playing days in front of him. Surely it's better to establish himself at a top-four club first before looking to the international team?

And this is the crux of the matter. If he had stayed at Arsenal, he would have, in all likelihood, been first choice by the beginning of next season. Gilberto looks set to leave in the summer, Flamini is stalling over a contract, and Diaby and Denilson still look way off the pace. Even if Flamini does stay, Diarra could have given him a proper ride for the first team, if he'd been willing to stay and fight for his place.

But he isn't. And as Arseblogger has said, do we really want players who give up at the first sign of difficulty?

Moreover, in the interview with L'Equipe, Diarra is already talking about Pompey obviously not being the club he'll stay with for the rest of his career, and that he sees the team as a stepping stone to a bigger club. Again: what an idiot. Denigrate the club you've literally just signed for; a team which actually has quite a few central midfield options in Mendes, Diop, Utaka, Davis etc. Who's to say he won't soon be whining again for a move?

Arsene once said that the last stage in the development of a player was 'mental'. A player had to put the right 'mental roof' on top of his physical abilities to become a complete player. It seems that Diarra's roof, if he ever had one, was blown off a long time ago. Either that, or he's the victim of unscrupulous agents. But even agents, as the Ashley Cole affair shows, have to have a pretty arrogant client to achieve transfers of this type.

So, despite the fact he had a few decent games for us, don't lose any sleep over this one. We've made £3.5m, Arsene will buy a new central midfielder, or promote youngsters as he sees fit, and we've got rid of an idiot. All the best Lassana.