THINK of Arsenals super-charged start to the season and the
stand-out names trip off the tongue: Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor
and Alexander Hleb among others.
Its a roll-call of honour and enterprise which seems to grow with
each passing victory as the Premier League leaders sweep all before
them at home and abroad.
But one individual who might not receive such immediate heroic
recognition from some supporters and the general public but who
surely will as the season develops is Frenchman Mathieu
Flamini.
While Fabregas has rightly dominated the headlines with his
best-ever scoring spree in a season and his mighty assists, fellow
midfielder Flamini has been a vital and unselfish foil beside him.
If you will, just think a midfield version of Dider Deschamps and
Eric Cantona.
Like those two, Arsenals F-Team, Fabregas and Flamini, complement
each other. One is the creative genius, the other the all-action
heartbeat.
If Fabregas is one of the success stories of the season, then
Flamini cannot be far behind.
It was only in April that boss Arsene Wenger publicly revealed that
Flamini might have to move on, as he might not be getting enough
games to keep him at the Emirates.
A pre-season heart-to-heart between player and boss resolved that
situation, and Flamini, revitalised by the faith shown in him, has
been rock-solid for the team even keeping out Gilberto.
Right now Flamini could not be more happy, but it could all have
been so different.
The 23-year-old said: Yes, I did consider leaving in the summer. I
just explained to the boss the way I was, not happy because I did
not play.
So I had a good discussion with the coach and he was telling me if
I wanted to stay he would have confidence in me and that good
talk made the difference. So I said Okay, I will stay and I will
fight for my place.
I wanted to fight for the midfield places I wanted to prove I
was good enough to play there and not at the right-back spot.
Yes, I played left-back too, but my natural position is central
midfield and thats why I am happy here.
Thats because I can prove to everyone I have my place in that
team and I enjoy to play with my friends, my team-mates, and we
want to continue this good run.
If Arsenals Young Guns continue to progress at their current rate
they could end up dominating the English game for years.
Flamini, part of the 7-0 Champions League thrashing of Slavia
Prague, said: We are all very young, so of course we are going to
improve and develop. But we have already been playing together for
three years.
And of course we want to get better and better, thats why we work
very hard every day in training. Our objective is to win every
game. Thats what we train for. At the moment its working well and
thats why we have to continue as the championship is a long
competition, a marathon.
We have a fantastic team with some big qualities and we knew we
had the possibilities to do something. At the start a lot of people
didnt believe in us. Now, every game, we try to prove they were
wrong.
We dont play with any pressure, because, at the start nobody
expected anything from us. Everybody was thinking we wouldnt be in
the race for the title.
So we are playing every game with a freedom. Every game we go out
to play to win. No, Im not surprised how well this team has done
as we knew we had a very strong team.
I play with these guys, my friends, every day in training. I know
their qualities and there is great team spirit. The confidence is
very high and now its important to keep it going, and we have to
work harder to continue.
When we go out on to the pitch we feel we are going to win. Every
time we play we have high confidence and know we have the
possibility to win, and, to be honest we are going to Liverpool to
win.
At the moment we have the feeling we cannot lose any game because
every time we play so well and win.
For me, yes, this team is good enough to win the title and the
Champions League. But we play game by game, and stay
concentrated.
Now Arsenal face a defining week in their season, even so soon, as
they face Liverpool tomorrow and then entertain Manchester United.
And Flamini cant wait.
The Frenchman added: This will give us a good idea as to how well
we can do and cope.
Its going to be important for us, but also for the other
teams.
They are bigger matches, important ones, against both Manchester
United and also Liverpool because if we win them they will make all
the difference.
If that happens we could be maybe eight points clear and we want
to win them.
