One of my favorite teams, Arsenal, traded off their captain yesterday - well, traded the contract as they do in soccer. For 30 million or so CND. I have wanted him gone for a long time. The reaction of the author at the delightfully named (and incredibly well written if incredibly rude) Arseblog conveys why this is big:

It's obvious there's a rebirth in progress at Arsenal. We've got a core of young players in the squad who are as promising as any I've ever seen. We've got experience in the right positions and I'm sure we're going to be adding more. We have a transfer kitty which has now been bolstered by the sale of Vieira and, unlike some people, I think the manager is going to do some serious shopping before the season begins. In the past he has been accused of erring on the side of experience too much, perhaps not giving young players enough of a chance and being too favourable to regulars. The sale of Vieira shows that has changed. We have to think the manager knows what he's doing here, he's studious and doesn't make rash moves in the transfer market just for the sake of it.