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Was Arsene Wenger right to let Robert Pires go?

Robert Dineen

In his analysis of tonight's match, Matt Hughes suggests that the Frenchman's success at Villarreal shows that he still had more to offer Arsenal when he left the club in 2006.

Pires himself has admitted that the manner of his departure still hurts. His final appearance for the club was a 18-minute appearance in the Champions League final before he was substituted in a tactical response to Jens Lehmann's sending off. 

Since then he has played an important role for a club that finished second in last season's La Liga and lie fourth this season, still a good position for a club of relatively small status.  

Tonight, the 35-year-old could have an opportunity to show his former club what they have missed. Could he leave Wenger wondering if he did the right thing by writing the winger off? Should he have offered him a longer contract?

Poll: were Blackburn Rovers right to sack Paul Ince?

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Poll: Diego Maradona - hero or villain?

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Poll: who should be the permanent England captain?

The man wearing the armband should be Rio Ferdinand, according to Sir Alex Ferguson. Unsurprisingly, the Manchester United manager is pushing his centre-half to the front of the queue for the chance to lead Fabio Capello's England team. "Rio wouldn't have captained my side if he wasn't capable of captaining England," Ferguson boasted.

Expect Avram Grant to tout John Terry, Rafa Benitez to trumpet Steven Gerrard and Ruud Gullit not to give a toss about David Beckham getting an extra special 100th cap unless it delays his return to LA in time for the Galaxy's pre-season.

We want to know what you think. Vote in our poll below:

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Poll: Are Newcastle crackers to bring back Keegan?

Wow! Kevin Keegan is back in Toon. From one Soccer Circus to another, King Kev has accepted Mike Ashley's offer to return to St James' Park. Times Online readers gave a resounding thumbs-up to the idea that Keegan should return as the Newcastle United manager, but now that it's happened have the club made the right choice? Will the entertainment level on the pitch be cranked up? Does Keegan still have what it takes to manage the Premier League? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts on the return of Mighty Mouse to Tyneside.

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The Debate: do Liverpool's owners know what they're doing?

Poor Rafa. Not only were Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr sounding out Jurgen Klinsmann as a potential candidate to replace the Liverpool manager should Benitez do the dirty on them, but then Hicks told the Liverpool Echo that they went behind the Spaniard's back. Do the actions of the Liverpool owners make sense? Were they right to attempt to take out an 'insurance policy' should Benitez leave? Are their very actions inclined to make Benitez want to leave? Vote in our poll and share your comments on the situation at Anfield.

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The readers decide Mourinho is the man for Newcastle

Ok, so Harry Redknapp looks to be the hot favourite to become the Newcastle United manager. But Mike Ashley, the club's owner, should take note that voters on our online poll asking who should take over at St James' Park put Harry a long way behind the eventual winner, Jose Mourinho (see results below).

Come on, Mike. It's not too late. Get your wallet out and lure Jose to Tyneside. The fans demand it.

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Poll: Should Beckham earn his 100th cap?

David Beckham received a standing ovation from some of his harshest critics on Sunday as he restated his desire to earn a 100th international cap against Switzerland next month.

As Matt Dickinson notes in his column in The Times, the unusually sentimental scribes at the Football Writers' Association dinner all seemed in agreement that Fabio Capello should select Goldenballs for his first match as England manager.

Are they right?

Forget Capello - you pick the team

Fabio Capello is the new England manager, so we thought it would be nice to give you, the readers, a chance to pick your favoured line-up and give the cultured Italian a chance to hit the ground running with your insight.

We have chosen a 4-4-2 formation for simplicity's sake. It may be tactically naive on the world stage, but it's astute at blog level. So choose your goalkeeper, defence, midfield and attack from the four polls below (you can choose multiple options where applicable, but try to avoid Steve McClaren's mistake of selecting four central defenders) and click the 'vote' button.

We are restricted to ten choices for each area of the team and your votes are measured as a percentage of how many readers voted for a particular player. Therefore, if everyone votes for both Gerrard and Lampard (you wouldn't would you?) both players will have a 100 per cent vote count. If there is a player missing that you would have preferred to select please let us know in the comments section below.

Away you go. Give us an England team to be proud of.

Click on the blue link to make your selections:

Should Rafael Benitez stay?

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, insists his team will get the result they need against Marseilles tonight in order to reach the knock-out stages of the Champions League. A victory in France will boost his standing with George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks, the club's co-owners, before the big Premier League clash with Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday. The Spaniard has a showdown with the two Americans later this week after he questioned their knowledge of the European transfer market and his future on Merseyside could rest on the outcome of the meeting.

Do you think Benitez should remain as Liverpool manager? Vote in our poll below:

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