The curious case of our defensive midfielder, Mathieu Flamini is an interesting one and a much publicized one, especially recently, considering the amount of times we have been cut open in that department, this season.
Flamini has had one of the longest run of games from anyone in the squad due to Arteta’s absence and him being the only established defensive midfielder in our squad – when Arteta is out injured, anyhow. Flamini, who became a key player in his first period here from 2004 to 2008, made his return in 2013 when he came on late in the first half against Tottenham in our 1-0 win and it looked like we had signed the player that we were so obviously missing. Flamini came on and provided leadership and a cool head in a game where that was required in abundance.
All the way through to December, on a long streak where we looked very strong at the back, Flamini was gaining praise throughout this long period and to be fair to him, he was very good. Until we got to Manchester City. Where he was needed. Â Granted the whole team failed in that game, but Flamini, supposed to be the ‘fire in the belly’ player in the middle that would hold the team together, he cracked and failed under the pressure against a relatively strong Manchester City midfield and we were subsequently battered, 6-3. The way he was carved through by a resurgent Yaya Toure and a powerful Fernandiniho was nothing short of embarrassing and this embarrassment was matched in the scoreline. The start of Flamini’s demise.
The real issue came when we travelled to the south coast to visit a youthful, but strong Southampton side who contained potent threats. This was evident from the way they started, they carved through us like a knife through butter and Flamini was exposed yet again. We fell behind to a header that was the left backs fault, granted but the corner that they scored from would not have come about had Flamini been doing his job properly. Stopping the counter attacks and then being a base for us to charge forward. We managed to pull ourselves in front and then, as they say, we were vulnerable from the kick off. A long ball pumped forward by none other than Artur Boruc, their goalkeeper, looked like meat and drink for the Arsenal defensive midfielder, oh no. He was beaten to it by a more inspired Jay Rodriguez and they subsequently scored. 2-2, after putting ourselves 2-1 up about 30 seconds prior to this. The game continued and then the real demise started, Flamini, losing his head, went in two footed on Morgan Schneiderlin and was, rightfully it must be said, sent off. Although we managed to hold on, this was only due to some stunning stops from Sczesney, Flamini had nearly cost us the title earlier than we were expected to lose it.
The season petered on and inconsistent wins and losses followed. None more demolishing than the hammering we took to an alright Liverpool side, nothing special. We went there top of league, 10 points ahead of Liverpool and we got battered. Flamini was not at fault for that, it was the whole team, but what exactly was Flamini’s role in the side that day? I didn’t understand.
The season came to a close and we won the FA Cup, superbly. But many were wondering why Arsenal couldn’t maintain their title push, Liverpool managed to and they had a weaker squad, it was the batterings that cost us. Those batterings came away from home, where the defensive block, if you like, needs to dig in and settle everyone down. He did not do this.
A summer of great optimism followed, defensive midfielder after defensive midfielder were named as potential targets, yet no one was signed and we went into the season with that still an overriding issue. Flamini was a problem from game two this season, Gareth Barry, someone who could have been signed, walked through our fragile defensive block, crossed for Coleman and they scored. 1-0. The second Everton goal was due to Flamini bombing forward at the end of the half, something that he should refrain from doing considering the position he is playing in and the fact that he is not getting any younger. Lukaku carved through us, passed to Naismith, they scored. Easy as you like for a team, ‘title contenders’ should be beating. We salvaged something from the game in the dying minutes so not much was made of this. Understandably. Until after the international break that followed the next game. Manchester City, at home. With a depleted midfield, Manchester City did not pose anything like the threat they posed when we went to the Etihad last season, it should have been a lot more comfortable for Flamini and his fellow counterparts, yet it wasn’t. The same problem persisted. One Navas run and counter attack had left Flamini and Monreal exposed, with Monreal dealing with Navas, Flamini’s job was to track Aguero, not the easiest person to track, granted, but that was his job, and he failed this task miserably. He dived in and left a 2 on 1 situation with Navas and Aguero, two of the quickest players in the division, against Monreal, one of the more sluggish players when put in comparison with these two. Manchester City scored and they led 1-0. The problem had not re-entered the room but stayed in the room and carried on scourging us.
The point I am trying to make, is why is Flamini in the side when he quite clearly does not have a job to do, there are numerous other examples where he has just been brushed aside by players that are renowned for trickery, not power. Eden Hazard for Chelsea springs to mind, when he got past Jack Wilshere surely Flamini could have seen where he was going (towards the box) and just made an attempt to tackle him, no, he didn’t and Chelsea scored of the resulting penalty, of which Koscienly conceded but it was not entirely his fault. I am posing the question to whoever is reading this – what does the team actually gain from Flamini’s presence?
Thank you for reading, Julian Bovill