Fabregas - I know Flamini will sign new deal

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Cesc Fabregas is confident that Mathieu Flamini will pen a new deal with Arsenal.

The duo have forged a mighty partnership in the heart of the Gunners midfield this season. In fact in the Premier League they have missed just four games as a pair. However the Frenchman’s current deal runs out in the summer, at which point he can leave the Club for nothing. Europe’s elite are watching on intently for any developments, or lack of them.

Should Flamini, who also recieved his first international cap this term, agree on a new contract he would become the third player in a short of space of time to commit to the future of Arsenal. He would join Manuel Almunia and youngster Fran Merida - a real testament to the direction the Club is going.

Fabregas enjoys a good relationship with Flamini both on and off the field. He believes that despite the reported, and fully justified, interest from elsewhere, his friend’s commitment and desire to be a winner with Arsenal is evident everyday.

“He [Flamini] is concentrating on the football at the moment,” Fabregas told the matchday programme. “We are still going for two titles so right now everything else is not as important.

“Of course he wants to know where he will be next season but we all hope he will be with us.

“He is working really hard, he is a nice guy, he wants the best for Arsenal and I know he wants to stay. He has a lot of options because he is playing amazing football, but I know he really wants to stay here and that’s the most important thing.”

Fabregas even admits to giving Flamini a little nudge in the right direction: “Yes I must say I have. I keep telling him to do it quick because we need him.”

798 SG

flamini had done before playing his former club out when his contact run out. if arsenal ended up the season trophy-less, i wont be surprise flamini left the club.

if he really leave, i hope he wont join any english club.

n it doesnt matter to arsenal cos getting a defensive/attacking midfielder is easy comparing to wingers.

Trump_Card SG

If he really leaves , I hope he goes to AC Milan

SiMiLaiEh* SG

ya go other league besides epl

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Arsène Wenger admits that the clock is ticking on his contract negotiations with Mathieu Flamini but he remains confident the French midfielder will sign a new deal.

The 25-year-old is out of contract in the summer and has been able to speak to other clubs since January. Newspapers have linked him to a couple of the major Italian sides.

Flamini and Wenger have been talking for some time but the manager has set a deadline for the end of this month. Both sides know that is approaching fast.

"We are getting close to yes or no," said Wenger at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

"He says he wants to stay and I believe him. But as long as he has not signed, for me, he is free to sign where he wants. We have set ourselves a target until the end of the month of April to finalise the situation, one way or the other.

"That's an absolute deadline because afterwards we have to make decisions about whether you have to move on the market because you don't have much time left."

At the start of every summer, Wenger is asked about his transfer plans. Every summer he replies by emphasising the importance of stability and continuity. Nothing will change in his attitude this season but a new ruling has complicated his plans.

"My first target is to keep the team together," said the 58-year-old. "Of course, that's a situation I do not master completely. But we want to continue to respect our wage structure because I feel that is very important.

"The situation at the moment has become much more unstable with the Webster clause. Every new rule provokes a little bit more inflation and instability because the players can always move out earlier and quicker.

"[The limit] was 28-years-old but I'm not convinced that that rule will resist for a long time. One day, a 26-year-old will go to court and say it's age discrimination. Why can you move out at 28 and not 26 after two years? So [that rule] will grow again. The stability inside a club will be a big problem because that can be a huge inflation factor."

* The 'Webster Clause' refers to Andrew Webster of Hearts who wished to move to Wigan in 2006. The case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, they made their ruling earlier this season.

As a result, "the 'Webster Case' will allow players to leave a club after three years of a longer fixed-term contract, or just two years if they are aged over 28. There are two stipulations: the player must hand in his notice in the 15 days following his club's last official match of the third season, and he may not move to a club in the same country."