The Arsenal manager, who wants to rebuild the team around his midfield general, knows that retaining Vieira's services is vital. "If you can find a better player, then bring him to me," Wenger said last week. "I wouldn't sell Patrick at any price." He may not have the choice."I know what I need to keep players like Patrick satisfied here. The English league is the biggest in the world, together with the Spanish League.
As a footballer you want to play among the best at the top level. It is quite simple."Negotiations over Vieira's future will prove anything but simple in the next few weeks but, should Arsenal persuade their midfielder to stay in north London, Barcelona may turn their attentions to another France international, Olivier Dacourt of Leeds United."I have not had any direct contact with Bar?" Dacourt said yesterday, "and I'm happy at Leeds But, if they [Barca] came in for me, we would have to see It is everybody's dream to play at the Nou Camp.". It is of scant consolation to their long-suffering fans, but Reading's epic 1995 First Division play-off final against Bolton remains one of the most eventful matches ever played at Wembley. Reading were 2-0 up at half-time, then missed a penalty, and even led 2-1 as late as the 84th minute, before Bruce Rioch's Bolton somehow clawed their way back to win the match 4-3 after extra-time. It is of scant consolation to their long-suffering fans, but Reading's epic 1995 First Division play-off final against Bolton remains one of the most eventful matches ever played at Wembley. Reading were 2-0 up at half-time, then missed a penalty, and even led 2-1 as late as the 84th minute, before Bruce Rioch's Bolton somehow clawed their way back to win the match 4-3 after extra-time. The defeat was all the more cruel as Reading had finished second in the First Division that year and, had the current promotion and relegation rules applied, they would have gone straight into the Premiership as runners-up to Middlesbrough. That season, though, only the champions went up and Reading were left to enter the lottery of the play-offs.Memories of the Bolton defeat still linger in the Reading minds, and it is little wonder that the current crop of players have mixed emotions about today's Second Division show-down against Walsall, who finished fourth, five points behind the Berkshire club.
For two players in particular, Reading's first major final since that memorable Bank Holiday Monday six years ago is a special occasion. As the only survivors from the drama, Phil Parkinson and Adrian "Adie" Williams have a personal score to settle."I actually missed that game through injury," recalls Parkinson, who is one of the club's most loyal servants with 374 appearances. "But I was sitting on the bench and I can tell you it's a match that the people of Reading will never forget. It was an incredible day; one which will stay with me forever. It's strange, but even when we were leading I was never comfortable. I had this nagging feeling that we shouldn't count our chickens too soon."Parkinson's gut instinct was correct, as Reading crumbled during extra-time. "To be honest," he says, "we were all but beat before we started the extra 30 minutes The players had got so close that I think they lost faith.
