As the second round gets underway in the Highbury Region, Ashley Cole, Emmanuel Petit, Gael Clichy, Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Nicklas Bendtner, Abou Diaby, and Andy Linighan take their bows and exit stage left. Voting starts now!

Things have kicked off in the Emirates Region second round, and early returns look like the David Seaman-Cesc Fabregas duel could be a close one. First round voting is still open in the Hale End Region and the London Colney Region. For those of you on AMP and Apple news, you’ll need to go through a browser to be able to vote because our polls get stripped out by those services.

HIGHBURY REGIONAL

SECOND ROUND

#1 Dennis Bergkamp vs. #9 Jack Wilshere

Jack Wilshere was in one of the closest pairings of the first round, edging Emmanuel Petit by fewer than 30 votes. Dennis Bergkamp was...not. The Non-Flying Dutchman picked up 99% of the votes in his battle with Ashley Cole, who managed a paltry three. I suspect Wilshere’s tournament will be similar to his Arsenal career — full of promise that ultimately goes unfulfilled. At least he can’t get injured in this one, although if there was anybody who could find a way to do it, it’s Jacky-boy. Poor guy, wish he could have stayed healthy.

#4 Jens Lehmann vs. #5 Aaron Ramsey

Jens Lehmannn and Aaron Ramsey both scored resounding victories in their first round matchups; Carl Jenkinson (37 votes) and Gael Clichy (7 votes) didn’t stand a chance. I’m interested to see who wins this battle. Ramsey seems to be a particular favorite around TSF but the Invicibles goalkeeper is a big ask. The Welshman has already knocked off one Invincible, can he do it again?

#3 Martin Keown vs. #6 Tomas Rosicky

Fun fact: Martin Keown was called the “Brain of Britain” by his Everton teammates because it agitated him; one of the main culprits was Kevin Sheedy, who, during a team bonding evening at a Chinese restaurant, pissed Keown off so much that he kicked him in the head. “The Little Mozart” seems a much more good-natured moniker. Rosicky had one of the slimmer first round margins of victory (24 votes). Keown won by more than 150.

#2 Lee Dixon vs. #7 Edu Gaspar

Lee Dixon had one of the bigger wins of the first round, picking up 98% of the votes in his tilt with Andy Linighan; I suppose that could have been because many Gooners don’t know who Linighan is, but who knows. Edu’s matchup with Abou Diaby was much closer, fewer than 30 votes separated the pair. Can the club’s current technical director knock off an all-time Arsenal great?

For reference, here is the overall bracket.