Adams about to hang up boots after long career

Life without Tony Adams officially begins for Arsenal this Sunday in the Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield), but it will not just be his presence on the pitch which will be sorely missed.

This is the first season for 19 years that the Gunners have been without their veteran defender and his influence throughout the club in that time has been immense.

Adams has yet to officially announce his anticipated retirement from the game but his failure to report for pre-season training has led Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to accept the inevitable. Namely that at the age of 35, with years of toil and strain on his body Adams has decided enough is finally enough.