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Flamini finally finds his role
Wayne Veysey2 Oct 2007
Timing in sport, as in life, is everything. Just ask Mathieu Flamini. When the Frenchman comes to identifying the turning point in his Arsenal career, he may choose to overlook the showdown talks he had with Arsene Wenger during the summer and consider, instead, this year's Copa America.
It is conceivable that had Gilberto not been captaining galactico-less Brazil to an unlikely tournament victory in mid-July, then Flamini would still be Arsenal's handy jack of all trades, filling in here and there but frustratingly no closer to winning a regular place.
However, Gilberto's high summer exertions necessitated him missing the opening three weeks of the campaign and opened up a place in the starting XI for a midfield anchorman. It is a role he has revelled in and one from which he will be difficult to remove.
"I got my chance and you could say I have taken it," said the 23-year-old. "I cannot tell you why I'm playing so much better this season. Everything is fine for me. I just didn't play enough last year. I was ready to play and wanted to play."
Desperate for a regular slice of the action, Flamini considered buying out the last year of his contract and in order to move but he decided to give it one final shot at Arsenal following a heart-to-heart with Wenger.
"I was thinking of leaving," explained Flamini. "I spoke to my coach and said, 'Will I get a chance?' He told me he had confidence in me and said it was important for me to prove I could play. I said, 'Okay, I will do it, I will prove it'."
So he has. Flamini has been outstanding thus far, protecting the back four as if his life depends upon it and calmly instigating attacks with his improved passing range, the lone yin in the Arsenal midfield to counteract the more polished yang of Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb, Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby.
Alan Curbishley became the latest convert to the Flamini fan club at the weekend and hailed the burgeoning central midfield pairing of the former Marseille man and Fabrgeas as "very strong".
"He is more offensive and I'm more defensive," explained Flamini. "I win the ball and stay in more defensive positions than the rest of the midfield. I am trying to do the maximum for players like Cesc and Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky, who have more freedom than me."
Flamini has been compared to countryman Claude Makelele in some circles but perhaps the player he most closely resembles in stature and style is Javier Mascherano.
Yet he says Patrick Vieira is his hero - "I consider him the best in the world in his position and it was fantastic to play in the same team as him" - and the player he would most like to emulate.
Vieira was the fulcrum of the Arsenal double-winning sides of 1998 and 2002 and the Invincibles of 2004. Can this current generation match their illustrious predecessors?
"At the moment it is fantastic," said Flamini. "There is a great atmosphere in the team and the club. That is the difference when we are having a difficult game. The players trust one another and are happy playing with one another."
With all things rosy on the Arsenal horizon, a small black cloud appears in the shape of Flamini's future. He is out of contract at the end of the season and talks have yet to begin on a new one.
"No, not yet," he admitted. "It's my last year but at the moment everything is fine. We will talk later about that. I'm a free agent in January but I'm focusing on my game."
Wenger has no doubts about Flamini's significance to the Arsenal cause. "One of the things I most admire about him is that he cares for more than just his own game," the Arsenal manager told Standard Sport. "He cares for the performance of the team and because of this he's a great organiser and talker on the pitch. He stabilises the midfield and has become an influential figure.
"He's the classic all round midfield player with a big heart and a big engine and the attitude of a winner."
Mathieu Flamini was speaking as he took part in a community open day at Whittington Hospital in Islington. The hospital is applying to become an NHS foundation trust, which is a new type of organisation accountable to the local community rather than to central government. In order to become a trust the hospital needs 4,000 local people to become members. For further information on how to become a member please contact 020 7288 3707.
