Arsène Wenger rates Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini as his
finest midfield partnership in more than 11 years at the Arsenal
helm.
That is a bold statement from a man who nurtured the Patrick
Vieira-Emmanuel Petit axis soon after arriving in North London in
1996. The French duo were a driving force behind Arsenal's Double
triumph in 1998 and helped their country to World Cup glory the
same year.
Fabregas has been a fixture in Arsenal's midfield since Vieira
left for Juventus in 2005 but this is Flamini's first season as a
regular after waiting patiently for his chance. Nonetheless, Wenger
believes that the current incumbents have the edge on their
illustrious midfield predecessors.
"Yes, this is the best partnership," said the Arsenal
manager.
"Going forward they [Fabregas and Flamini] are technically good
and very mobile. Before we had players with impact and now the
players' strength is in mobility.
"Maybe they are less physically strong in the challenge than
Vieira and Petit but they have a good understanding and they cover
each other well."
Fans and pundits alike were urging Wenger to invest in an
established midfielder after the departure of Vieira three years
ago but the Frenchman stuck to his guns and stuck with his young
Gunners. Fabregas, and now Flamini, have benefited from Wenger's
policy and the Frenchman feels vindicated.
"We build a team over years being very restrictive about our
spending and you are only rewarded if you can keep the team
together," said Wenger.