Friday, March 29, 2024

Flamini: Wenger key to my return

Mathieu Flamini has confirmed that the offer of a three-year deal at Arsenal and the opportunity to work with Arsene Wenger were the two main reasons why he rejected a new contract at AC Milan and the chance to play in Germany.

The French midfielder, who made his comeback debut against Spurs just 48 hours after putting pen-to-paper at the Emirates, explained that at 29 he thought long and hard about his next step.

“Milan asked me to extend my contract for two years,” Flamini told France Football.

“However, at 29-years-old, I didn’t want to sign anything less than three seasons. I had other opportunities in Italy where clubs other than Milan contacted me, as well as from sides in Germany and England.

“At this stage of my career it was an important choice, so I took time to think. To maintain my fitness I decided to train with Arsenal and then over time the deal unfolded.

The fact that Arsene Wenger is still at the club was an important part of my decision, he knows me very well and has played a big role in my career.

“He introduced me to the best league, the Premier League, and has taught me on many levels, tactical, technical and mental.”

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A N Other

Hmm.. then why did you leave?

Mathieu Flamini

I was an idiot. i am sorry. but i came back and made that tackle on that spurs player. will you forgive me??

Archway Kid

Oh, go on then!

New guy

On top of that, he plays one – actually both – of the two most difficult and most important positions in our team, and he does it well. As exciting as the attacking possibilities are, there’s a real risk that we’ll be torn apart by compact, counter-attacking teams (such as, let’s say, Mourinho’s Chelsea). Whichever combination of Flamini/Ramsey/Arteta playing – and in many cases I would expect it to be only one from those three – needs to be extremely aware and disciplined. Flamini has good positional sense, is tireless, and is the little corporal. He organises everyone. The other… Read more »

A N Other

of course.. Next time just score hat trick against that and you will be my hero again?

A N Other

*Them not that..

Fergie the Gooner

Kicks spuds when he wants,
kicks spuds when he waaants,
Mathieu Flamini kicks spuds when he wants!

Mooro

Admire his honesty in that he runs down a contract then fucks off for more dough. At least you know what you’re getting – none of that ‘you guys’ bollocks.

And what a fuckin tackle on that Spud cunt. One of the highlights of the game.

ALADESANMI MARVELLOUS

Flamini forgot to tell us Wenger’s vow not to sign him back with money bcos he left us
with Arsenal making not a dime on him.

Scribe

It’s that honnesty that I guess makes the differance. Mercenery or not at least you know your paying a solid pro.

Unlike the Adebayors of this world, you’ll always get solid professional who’ll not sulk, an will keep running and performing up to a standard, not someone whose hunger becomes an issue.

Matt

“I didn’t want to sign anything less than three seasons.”

That bit seems pretty crucial.

Of course, Wenger was “still at the club” in 2008. Oh well.

Free

Three seasons contract? Wow. If he’s still then got enough mobility to walk out, good luck to him.

wobbly ankles

Early indicators suggest that he’ll still be running about, pointing at stuff, and organizing things well into his late 70’s

Arsene's stylist

“He introduced me to the best league, the Premier League, and has taught me on many levels, tactical, technical and mental, which I repaid by fucking off for more money the minute I had the opportunity.”

vnet

He fulfills a contract and then goes to new leagues for a fresh start (which may or may not include a pay rise) I would much rather hate if a player under contract especially one who has just signed a contract last year ask for move away or ask for a new contract. Signing a contract and fulfilling it should be the norm. I think most of the fans are a bit too much expectant of players these days. I see no problem with what he did back in 08. This guy is a professional. On the field you can… Read more »

GloryHunter

We are all saying nice things about Flamini in hindsight, not long ago he was labelled Flamoney and been tarnished with the same brush as Cashley, Adepaymore, Na$ri & Van Payslip.

Im glad he’s back cos i never lost respect for him, he did what was best for his career and now he’s won a few titles and is even more wealthy.

All im saying is as fans we need to be more objective and realise that when players leave Arsenal its not just for a better contract(Unless its Adebayor)

Although it helps ofcourse 😉

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

You’re getting fixated on the transfer fee. You shouldn’t. The transfer fee is what a Club pays to beat any opposition to get the player. That is not under the control of the player and he is not obliged to provide you with a windfall when he leaves. Yes, his agent expects a cut, but that is the agent’s right as an agent. It’s how all agents in any business make their money. Unless you are daft enough to pay a signing on fee to the player himself (which might also be called a legal bribe) then the player gets… Read more »

Mate Kiddleton

He signed a contract for a set number of years and left after it ran out. I see nothing wrong with what he did

goldi

i thumbed up because you are hot

Double Canister

Eew, creepy.

Shishir

Especially because he was only rated at Arsenal in his last season. He was very much a utility, bit part player before that, so maybe it was unfair to have expected him to hold some kind of undying gratitude to the club.

ChrisM

Absolutely this, I Agree.

Exiledgooner

If he comes back and plays well for the club, I’m willing to overlook his past behaviour. At least he didn’t take us all for fools like the Dutch traitor.

ChrisM

Kiddleton, you ain’t got a clue if you think a player honouring a contract for the whole duration of a contract is ok. It’s all about badge kissing, giving 110% and questioning your employers ambition before signing a new contract and saying something like “I was never gonna leave this club, the fans showed what I mean to them”.

… nothing wrong with honouring a contract, I dunno… *mumble mumble*

Manninger

She’s hot you knob

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

I thought she was a man pretending to be a woman.

Woolwich Peripatetic

Flamoney has never been sold in his whole career, he came to us on a free from Marseille, left on a free to Milan, did the same to them, now he’s back. We should have given him a new contract before 2008 but at the time, we had Gilberto, were looking at Diarra and Diaby was semi-available too.
Flamini, other than Cesc, was probably the only midfielder we could have gone out and bought who could just drop straight into our midfield without needing time to adjust. We saw that against Spurs.

shuggietodd

One of Flamini’s unsung qualities is that he looks like a member of The Strokes. I like him. He looks like one of the few players who has a crafty pint and a fag.

Arsene Wenger

plus we were in the market for top top quality and flamini was right there, best of all he was free…

Thisisme

I’ve never got why he is/does get slated for basically doing his job and fulfilling a contract to the best of his abilities.

That’s how it should be done shouldn’t it? In another other profession he would be commended for his professional behavior.

Zorro in the box

This is the thing – we hate it when players mess us around, agitate to leave before their contracts etc. We always criticise them for not sticking to the legal agreement. Well Flamini has always honoured his contracts. He’s under no obligation to sign new ones – he is very similar to Wenger in that way. That he left on a Bosman may sound money-grabbing, personally I think we’d prefer that to the way we lost Nasri or RvP.

Paul S

From all accounts I’ve heard Nasri and RVP would have been perfectly happy to honour/run down their contracts and leave on a Bosman. They were sold because the club valued hanging on to them for a year at less than the £25m they could get for selling.

PhoenicianGooner

There is no way that RVP wanted to fulfill the last year of his contract, the fucking twat. The way he insulted Arsenal was a disgrace, and although I want us to keep our best players, it was best that we sold him when we did. It hurt seeing the fucker win the EPL, but I’m enjoying the fact the old fucker from up north never told RVP he was leaving at the end of the season. Now the Dutch skunks gotta deal with David Fucking Moyes. It bring me great pleasure seeing that he not only does not get… Read more »

2013-2014 = 2003-2004

I’d long forgotten it was only GBP25mm we got for Dutch Skunk.

After this recent transfer-window with Bale going at GBP85mm and Neymar/Falcao/Cavani all sold for north of GBP50mm, I can’t help but wish we’d forced Sir Aubergine-face to pay double that amount.

TENN

Nasri was and still is a nobody. Wenger capitalized on the stupidity of City.

GloryHunter

Exactly, Nasri looks good from far, but in reality he’s far from good.

Im sure we all remember the season when Cesc got injured taking a penalty vs Barca 🙁
We all thought, we had a worthy replacement in Nasri, he was woeful, only had 1 assist in Cesc’s role for the remainder of the season and that was in a dead rubber game vs WBA( i think it was for C. Vela)

From that moment i realised he wasn’t special.

Harish P

Mental indeed.

Good player to have on your side.

Wengerish

The guy strikes me as being a hard nosed type who can look after himself. On and off the pitch. Bad when he is not on your team, good when he is. You know he’ll make the guys around him more confident about going into battles with the likes of Manure, Chelski, etc..

Bobs

People seem to forget that the reason he fucked off was because the club were the ones who dithered about and let his contract run down to the last 6 months despite him forming a very solid partnership with cesc after he took gilberto’s place in the in the middle and he also did very well whenever he had to deputize at LB during our run to the UCL finals.

Scribe

This, we properly dicked him around really, Wenger didn’t rate him untill well into his last season, whch just happened to be amazing. Any he only just about won his place in the end.

He went off, tried something new, probably in the wrong league, it’s great to have him back.

DonJo

What we did to him was actually worse, hence I have (and never had) any issue with him leaving. He played in all manner of positions, helped give our more talented players license to play and in the run up to the UCL Final covered expertly at left back. To then be dropped for Cole, who hadn’t featured for weeks, must have been a right kick in the teeth; he probably decided there and then he wouldn’t re-sign.

ChrisM

To be honest Flamini, I don’t care what was key to your return, I am just very glad you’re back. And in your performance against Spurs you provided exactly what I had hoped to see and had missed while you were gone.

Now have a word with the other two* amigos and get them to rejoin.

*just humour Hleb

BillyBatts

He’s a solid player and a good, experienced addition to the team. Anyone who’s crying about his lack of ‘loyalty’ needs a shot of reality. He’s not born and raised in Highbury, it’s his job, he had a better offer and he took it. Would any of us honestly do it differently?

jeft

U betrayed wenger from trust he got on u. U left with nothing to arsenal.

jeft

U betrayed wenger from trust he got on u. U left with nothing to arsenal.

gunnerph

fuck off son

The fool of a Took

Who cares about how he left us, we have been butt fucked in worse ways by other players throughout the years.

Flamini is a mercenary, but at least he is an honest mercenary. He will use us and we will sure as hell use him.

He may not be an Adams or a Bergkamp in terms of loyalty and he won´t go down in Arsenal history, but he will play his heart out for us. And in these times of Ibrahimovic´s, Cavani´s and Falcao´s, Flamin is as good as it gets.

*cynical Tuesday*

Micko

Özil…that’s all 🙂

Brian Mendoza

Since both he and Ozil seem to have mentioned that Wenger was key in them deciding to join The Arsenal, I thought I might bring this up since I remembered it recently:

To all of you that at some point suggested that Moyes would be a good replacement for Wenger, do you still stand by that stance?

Double Canister

Took
They have gone into hiding, still muttering about being disappointed with the transfer window and not squandering another £50m on strikers we probably don’t need when we can rely on Özil and Co put the ball on a plate for they forwards we have, even Bentner and Park will look world class with passes from Dr. Ö.

WengersNoseHair

Another player singing the praise of Monsieur. First Ozil explains to open-mouthed football fans about Wenger’s master-plan, then several well respected people like Oliver Bierhoff and Joachim Low praise Wenger…. Now Flamini, maybe a bit of an anti-climax after that lot, but still, more praise for Wenger. Call me a daft optimist, but players will be queueing up to play for Arsenal and Wenger, no?

Arsenal-induced Heart Attack Survivor

Ah… The aroma of a new blog post!

Goontang

I do not blame flamini for leaving. Atleast he did the right thing and chose a different league rather than goto rivals like some un named cunts.

And to be honest I think that flamini is exactly what this team needs. We need that bite and someone not afraid to get dirty.

jack jack jack

Our players need protection too. When some knuckle-dragging Stoke gobshite tries to foul dear Mesut we need somebody, like Lauren so beautifully in the past, to kick the living shite out of them.

WengersNoseHair

I’m torn, should I do a Suarez joke?

I think I’ll past, ahv had enough of that bloke…

Osi

Now is the best time to repay us!

Jams N Roses

I like him, a lot. He was great before and he’s come back, looking sharp and you’d imagine more experienced in the game! Forget about him leaving before, he fulfilled his contract, meaning he kept his word, which in this day and age is quite remarkable for players. We need him, he wants to be here, why would anyone search for a negative in this?

JHSong

Although he leave this club in the past, he is better than van cunt. cuz at least he played his best at the end of his contract.

meaner

Get a farking life. What loyalty u idiots are talking about? Chamak left, why didn’t u idiots complain about his loyalty? For u idiots, loyalty only applies when the player is up to expectation, if u are no good, u can jolly well fark off n no gooner will ever talk about loyalty.

GloryHunter

You’ve got a valid point but your way of espressing yourself, leaves a lot to be desired.

But i know where you’re coming from, cos How many of us cared about getting rid of Gervinho, and all the other players we called deadwood!?!
How many of us cared if they really wanted to stay at Arsenal?!?
So when its the other way round , we have to accept it, we cant have our cake and eat it too!!
Or can we?!?! 😉

Gutbukkit Deffrolla

Who wants to shag a cake?

Oh wait! I get you now. Sorry. Thought you were talking about a pie.

shuggietodd

It’s probably worth having a look at that tackle on Corluka again. He gets the ball!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LgIRe0rJDM

Heroldgoon

I’m just glad he’s here. for the squads depth that is, his words don’t mean a thing like they do for most footballers….

Just put in a good shift when called upon, thanks.

Notts Wilko

Totally agree with Mate Kiddleton;
Flamini honoured his contract, and then chose to widen his experience. Honoured that contract too. Wenger always talks about honouring contracts. As long as he is suitable and grafts hard, I’m happy.

SweetBun

Totally agree with Mate Kiddleton because she’s hot !!

the only sam is nelson

Flamini was the dog’s bollocks against the Scum He is totally what we need and I’m all for seeing him help us to our first league title since ’04. I suspect he’ll be as instrumental in the big games as Ozil, chasing the ball and hounding the opposition midfield in a way we haven’t seen since he left in the first place. The work-rate of Cazorla, Ozil, Rosicky, Rambo and Jack – with Flamini as a ball winning terrier – is mouthwatering. Much as I love watching, say, Diaby’s incredible skill, technique and surging runs past opponents – it’s the… Read more »

True Red

I never had a problem with Flamini leaving, its not like he demanded a new contract and then fucked off half way through. There’s no difference between this and me having a two-year contract with my employer and leaving at the end.

I’m pleased to see him back, adds something to our midfield and frees other players to play a less defensive-minded game.

Hereford Gooner

Excellent acquisition for the first team squad. He will undoubtedly play a major role in the team over the coming seasons. We have lacked an organiser (i.e a demanding captain) for some years, and this man can do that (regardless of having the armband.) I am not expecting us to mount a major challenge for the league this season, but after finally adding a born leader to the midfield (along with our higher profile signing) it would not surprise me if we were right up there come May. I am managing my expectations for this year, but with a couple… Read more »

Tonydouble71

The flamster still has quality and will be great for us.A tough nut who will stick the boot in and play out of his skin for Wenger.people need to respect the way Ozil and others want to play for Wenger.as mentioned he served the club well before
Unlike nasri and the Dutch Judas he didn’t shaft us.I say welcome home to him

sharıf maldin

İ think ıts the managment whıch messed up with the skıpper’s future by not renewıng his contract.i

the Only One

just break van p*ssy’s leg i’ll be fine.

Mercenary Flamini

Didn’t he give his word on a contract extension back in 08 & then back out?

9ja Gooner

One Word “FLAMSTER” 😉

Gooner1886

I know some of u fookers vote me down for saying this… But… I believe flamini will become a first choice before too long and will be the stone in which the unbelievable sexy football that is sure to follow will be built upon.

Aside from his obvious defensive abilities he gives the rest of the team a verbal kick up the ass and makes sure they don’t drop their level even for a minute.

Something we’ve sadly missed for a few years now

D-holio

Still remember many moons ago when he took control of the game at Villa Park and put in a great marshalling and general type performance and even got a goal which earned us the 3 pts away to the Villa.
More of that please!

Danny

He’s our hardman. If the opposition tries it on with one of our players, they should now what’s coming to them: a thunderous, bone-crunching high boot challenge!

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