Being a gooner, I figured I should reply here, despite this being quite an old thread.

His departure came as a surprise to many, myself included, but to be honest, his performances over the past 2 seasons weren't consistent, plus the injuries. Vieira left because he cried wolf one too many times. His behaviour last summer wasn't that of a captain who had his heart set on playing for Arsenal and it did put many fans off.

They had to let him go at this point, one reason, to get the maximum fee they could get, plus Wenger must've had something up his sleeve, maybe nurturing an existing team member, or had an eye on someone who could replace Vieira in the long run.

There IS life after Vieira, Ballack would be a great replacement, and he won't cost anything next summer as his contract's expiring but we'll have to compete with United on that.

Guti would've been a good signing, but I doubt that he'll be coming to Arsenal anytime soon. Arsenal's failure to sign Baptista is one reason everyone is pointing fingers at Arsene, even though is role would've been completely different.

One thing to keep in mind, players come and go. This club is not 8 or 10 years old, it was a great club before any of these people were here and will continue to be a great club long after they're gone.

I still think that he kept the team together and with him gone now, who is going to organise the midfield ? Ljundberg and Pires are good but too volatile. Berkamp is not able to last 90 mn and Van Persie still lacks experience and isn't solid enough, same with Fabregas although I do rate them both

hmmm... He can't be replaced, but injuries and his lengthy int'l career were starting to take their toll on Viera. His value was dropping, he was worth more than double his current offering two seasons ago. Arsenal also has to keep the wages in-check w/ younger players starting to rise. Sad, nonetheless.

I think it will be very difficult for Arsenal to replace Viera. I did read somewhere they plan to buy Guti but he's not a holding midfielder.