Since re-signing this summer on a free-transfer from AC Milan, Flamini has been crucial to Arsenal’s strong start to the season – so much so, that the team have not yet lost a game with the Frenchman in the side.
After missing last Tuesday’s game against Borussia Dortmund through concussion, his return on Saturday lasted just 7 minutes, before he suffered a groin injury and was replaced by Serge Gnabry.
This groin injury will rule him out of Tuesday’s Capital One Cup game against Chelsea, next Saturday’s vital game against Liverpool, and also the crucial Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund.
It is understood that he will be targeting the Manchester United game on November 10 as his comeback game – but just how big a blow is this to the Arsenal team?
After he was substituted off against Norwich with complaints of double vision, the team seemed to struggle for 30 minutes, with Leroy Fer dominating the midfield. Then, against Borussia Dortmund, the team was caught out on the counter-attack in the 82nd minute, with Lewandowski scoring the winner – however, if Flamini was on the pitch, his tendency to stay deep would surely have helped to prevent the goal.
And again, when he came off against Crystal Palace, the team’s total dominance of the game stopped, and Crystal Palace were allowed back into the game, with the team being caught out on the counter-attack by Chamakh, which led to Mikel Arteta’s harsh sending-off.
But perhaps (although unlikely), could this provide a chance for Emmanuel Frimpong to have an impact? At the start of the season, he was making the matchday squads regularly, but as more and more first-team players returned to fitness, he suffered a thigh injury of his own and is seen to be well down the pecking order. His style is not dissimilar to that of Flamini – very aggressive and a good tackler, but his passing is in need of improvement.
The game against Chelsea midweek could be a chance for Frimpong to start – especially with Arteta’s suspension and Flamini’s injury, but he will need to remain disciplined in order to have any chance of a first-team run.
All in all, this injury couldn’t really have come at a worse time for Arsenal, with a pivotal run of games upcoming. It’s unlikely that Frimpong will be the man to step-up, but football is a very unpredictable game.
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Photo via Ronnie Macdonald – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronmacphotos/