Bergkamp unhappy over Vieira deal

[Dazza]

Dennis Bergkamp says Arsenal should have lined up a replacement before selling captain Patrick Vieira.
Vieira was sold to Juventus last summer for £13m and Bergkamp told the Times: "You can't just let Patrick go without having someone coming in.

"You respect Arsene (Wenger) for what he has done, that is for sure. But to tell the truth you thought something would happen - and nothing did."

The striker said Arsenal have now had an "unneccesary" transitional year.

Bergkamp added: "When you hear he is going to be sold you try to think of a team without him.

"And you have the confidence in the board and the coach that they have something in mind.

"Arsene is intelligent enough to know what that did to the team. People saw how influential Patrick was on the pitch, dominating midfield by himself.

"But people also forget how he was off the pitch, how impressive he was in the dressing room, and how important he was for every other player, young and old. I think a lot of people underestimated that."

Bergkamp admitted: "We didn't expect the dip to be this big. It is OK to take one step back and two steps forward, but we are not really sure if it just one step back at the moment. It seems more."

Losing 1 player does make a team go from not losing a game in 50 matches to being beaten by West Ham!