Time to drop Flamini by Blaz
Last year, when Arsenal signed Mathieu Flamini for free, I had mixed feelings. At first, I wasn’t all that happy about it, but it didn’t take long to feel good about it. It was good to have a non – compromising warrior in the middle of the field, someone that can tackle without hurting himself and someone to protect more fragile team members (remember the “I will blind you” quote). It was nice to have a tough tackler again.
This year though, he got even more chance. With Arteta being absent quite often, we started to rely more and more on him to keep together our midfield and control opponents offensive play. But he more or less failed miserably. All we need is to take a look at our last Premiership game and the goal we could have easily prevented.
If only Flamini kicked the ball anywhere or stayed on his feet. Yes it might as well be a foul, but he had all the time in the world to do something with the ball. If for this goal he has an excuse (though a weak one), there were other ones which he more or less enabled for our rivals to score against us. All we need is to look at the Tottenham game. So, someone who is supposed to support our back four and be the link between them and midfield and, even more importantly, prevent the other team from scoring, is basically giving opponents balls, goals and points. I feel we would get more coverage with playing Wilshire-Ramsey-Ozil/Cazorla in the middle, it certainly couldn’t be worse!
The fact is Flamini came for free and will leave also for free and he isn’t one of the higher paid players, but I for one can’t wait for him to be benched on a permanent basis.
Well that’s what I think!
Blaž from Ljubljana
I’m not saying yes or no but if we are talking about dropping a player for a few mistakes then we might as well drop half of the squad. The point is that he is a gunner which means we support him for as long as he wears the arsenal crest. but thats just me i suppose
Then the solution to your moral dilemma is to terminate his contract then start bashing him? Did you love and suporrt Lord Bendtner too all the way through ? Get real and Grow up !
woah man settle down. i’m just saying that i hope for the best for whoever is on the team. and actually yea i did support bendtner while he was with us. i didnt like him as a player but i wasnt gonna bash on my own player. i dont see why that would be so hard to believe.
diaby should be tried now: at least maybe replace flam at half time.
diaby’s played U21, and flam has worsened this season.
i dont see the point of having on squad a player like
diaby if you’re not going to play him.
Get what you’re saying and somewhat agree.
Flamini or anyone else aren’t to blame for what they produce as footballers, everyone has their level. It’s Wenger who’s deemed his mediocre ability as good enough for Arsenal, and there’s your problem.
I just get the impression Wenger doesn’t value having a physical presence who is only good for defending/shielding. Except our league is the one place a player like this is NEEDED. People talk Costa and Fab at Chelsea, but Matic is the real reason they play with freedom.
exactly. and same with our squad. Flamini isnt the best player we have but he is the only midfielder disciplined enough (for the most part) to stay back in front of our backline which allows the likes of ozil, cazorla and ramsey to commit numbers to the attack without worrying about leaving the back exposed. arteta always gets caught up too high which leaves us defending with just our backline at times. and its not his fault either because he isnt a natural dm.
yes we should get a real, solid, ball playing dm but until then we have flamini so we might as well give him our support
He is playing right now bcoz is d only one available,
Most of the players are error prone too, almost all of them. Anyway, DM needed. Pls. Press should ask wenger, wher is Diabi? Collecting wages without work.
Diaby has played for the U21’s a few times recently. Wenger also spoke about him in today’s press conference. I think he will be in the squad tomorrow
Hes not been great I must agree however what worries me more than individual errors or poor performnces ia the apparent laxk of direction and attitude of the players/team. Flam has looked poor as hes often playing as the sole deep lying midfielder at the moment and who wouldn’t look poor the way our teams playing. At least flam is giving his all on the pitch and is one of the few members left from the 2004/2005 team. We need his fight at the moment. I’d say chambers would be a great option at dm but with no cb cover, (well done arsene! ) and debuchy, kos injured we dont have this luxury. What a fine mess you’ve made arsene, surely you should have realised depth at dm and begind was needed as players would get injured, they always historically do.
Also I want to see chambers back at cb with bellerin at rb, hayden should be introduced for per as soon as he’s fit again. Monreal back on the bench for gibbs. Hayden and chambers is unproven but could be one for the future so until they click we need to offer more protection by way of two dm minded deep lying players, flam out and out dm, ramseybox to box bbut mindful of his defensive responsibilities. It wont hurt to play like this for a few games and hopefully as the back lin becomes more composed the front players will be play with less anxiety and express themselves.
Monreal isn’t playing instead of Gibbs and hasn’t played for him in a while. do you watch our games?
You talk about “dropping” Flamini with such a confidence as if we have some really World class options waiting to take his place. Ohh wait a minute,we have Arteta and Diaby. For fu#k’s sake drop Flamini Wenger ans bring the real steel into the squad when we already have them. These two would be such a massive upgrade on Flamini.Yeah right. LOL.
Mr “Yellow card is my best attribute”
If we are dropping rubbish players then what about Wack Wilshere?
#WhathasWilsheredonesincetheBarcagame?
#WOB=WackWilshereoutbrigade
he’s actually been one of our best players recently, not too far behind Alexis. we basically won the FA Cup because of his drive and determination when he came on. and I do believe he scored the best goal of a whole season last season. so technically he has done quite a lot
Totally agree about fragility of back line . Headline should read “Time to drop Mertesacker he’s even worse” Give Chambers ,Hayden, anybody a chance…..
Don’t think we have any other option other than Hayden (who’s injured), Arteta (who’s no better) and Wilshere (whose defending is stuff of nightmares). Coquelin is always an unused sub and Diaby is never in the squad for some reason. We just have to stick with him till Jan, or use Hayden as a DM when he comes back. Our defensive options are paper thin at the moment, Flamini can’t really be dropped.
Players that need replacement – Mertesacker, Flamini, Arteta. Players in – CB’s – Ginter (German international, still young with loads of potential) or Phil Jageilka (English international with tons of BPL experience I have always rated him highly. Great tackler with good balance and strength). In place of Flamini and Arteta, we bring in both Schneiderlin and Lars Bender. Both very technically gifted with Bender also able to play B2B if necessary. With those changes, Arsenal’s defense would be a lot more solid and reliable.
Nicholas nkaulou is perfect he is up their with the best cb so far this season and wenger has tried to sign him in the past he also plays dm as a secondary position. Marseille are having a great season but won’t stand in the way if we bid 15m+ we could even give them diaby,coqulan or Campbell on loan till end of season plus flamini is due to go back their with his contract expiring in summer.
On topic flamini is the least of our problems. Vs anderlecht he had 6blocks,4 clearances and 2 interceptions whilst averaging 93% pass accuracy.
Vs chelsea. He was the best player on the pitch (squawka)
IMO: We are blaming these players for nothing, these players are average and am sure they are playing at their full potential but at the wrong club. If you compare these players with players at other clubs that win tittles, they are simply not at the same level. We fans are comparing these players to world class players which is not right. Try to look through the squad from one position to the other and try to match them to other players in the trophy winning clubs, they are simply not at the same level. I give them that credit. So stop blaming them and blame the manager who recruited them.
Absolutely correct m8 the manager iz to blame !!!
@brada b
Don’t forget, he’s also to blame for killing Kennedy..
@Jogon
No offense dude. But your blame is misguided as is that of some the others here. With the exception of Sanchez, Ospina, Chambers, Debuachy, and Campbell, these are some of the same players who rolled through Napoli, Dortmund and Bayern as well as Barca. So, their potential is there and obvious. And they have shown that they can mix it up with the best of them when they “show up”
And as far as Flame is concerned. No, he ain’t the best player out there. But he does try and give his all when he’s out there, as opposed to others who seem as if their going through the motions.
I hammer AW for his team selection based on favoritism which is throwin the spanner in our works at the moment. But I believe our “choice 11″ picked on the day can do anybody”if they show up”
@NY Gunner, let me break it down for you.Chambers is not world class, he was not even on the 1st 11 of south Hampton, Debuchy was never a starter for France until Sagna became old, Cambell was unknown untill World cup, Gibbs not even a starter in England national squad, Flamini, Cocklin and Diaby ( i dont have what to say), Arteta has never even played for spain, our best goal keeper was not a starter for Poland until Wenger started to bench Fambiasky just to make the other look good, Koshienly is good though.
Wilshere is over rated, Ox is still young and lost, Ramsey only one good season and flopped, Giround and Welbek are average especially Giroud, Sanogo (cant even explain)
@Jogon
Now really break it down for me dude. Spare me the bias this time.
OFF TOPIC BUT GUYZ DO YOU THINK WE MISS GIROUD?.98% OF US THINK HE IS SHIT AND I 4 ONE HAS BEEN REALLY HARD ON HIM BUT I THINK WE MISS OUR BIG FRENCH BEAST.I THINK HE GIVES US THIS PLAN B OPTION,TACTICALLY.
Im not a favourite of #giroud but I think we miss him
@brada–thanks.i thought i was insane,just thinking that thought of we missing giroud.you know arsenal believes in the fluid system of passing the ball and keeping possession but when we play a team that presses well and close down space,passing out from the back becomes difficult(for some reason,i dunno our passing has not been as fluid as the era of FAB,NASIRI,SONG ETC).now when this happens,we cannot build up play from the back and that becomes a problem.but with OLIVER WE HAVE THE OPTION OF BEING DIRECT(LONG BALLS TO OUR FRONT LINE,SINCE WE VE BEEN CLOSED DOWN ESPECAILLY WITH SIDES THAT PRESS WELL EG EVERTON,SOUTHAMPTON TOTTNHAM).not all teams will allow you keep the ball on the ground all the time except you do it absolutely brilliantly.so you need that gigantic figure that can create opening for DIRECTNESS,AS A PLAN B OPTION TO FLUIDITY
Giroud was very good in the penalty box plus he allowed us to skip the midfield with passes direct to him. If u look at welbeck a chances in the penalty box were he is not already dribbling he has missed nearly most of them.welbeck was missing vs Chelsea giroud would have gave us the option to cross the ball in and cause problems for terry n Cahill. Giroud was also excellent whenever he came on as a sub.
How about drop #AW #mer &#flam they’re all rubbish no to mention that #aw
It is just unbelievable…!!
Sometimes I wonder if we just deserve Wenger and all the rubbishes that comes with it…!!
Drop Flamini! And then what genius?
Fans said he had a bad game against the Belgians…!!!!!!
Well, he has to protect the back four and do Wilshere defensive job (losing the ball most of the time) because as we see it game after game, he rarely tracks back and does not have the pace nor the discipline (still wondering why he is Arsenal number10!!!)
It is a lot a for one man. Especially when you have a Mertesacker who basically cannot run to save his life and seems to be wrongly positioned more often. Monreal is not a CB (and never played at the position before arriving at Arsenal) but still got loads of critics.
What about Wenger responsibilities? May be he should face the music from the fans instead of some of them still sucking his “balls” and just missing the point.
One of the highest paid manager in world football and cannot deliver a trophy on a regular basis… And some people (well the fools and deluded) still think that is good enough…
Addicted to failure and to the minimum effort.
Wenger is at home here, no pressure and no objectives.
As soon as the season is over, the fans will run to the shop and increase the sale of shirts… I don’t why some of you are complaining? You are just following the club policies to the letters…!!!
Giroud is our 3rd CB, nice assist, gr8 work rate, uses head well, we miss him.
@royalman
Yeah. But when he was humpin up front, he was gettin sh*t for not being good enough…
@danielc1989. Of course I watch our games! hopefully unlike some people on here you can tell I actually watch the games from my comments.
Read my post again and you’ll see regarding Monreal I said:
“Back on the BENCH for Gibbs”. Meaning back as LB cover for Gibbs where he belongs, none of this CB nonsense.
@Ronny331
In all fairness to Monreal, I thought he played better as a LW than a CB…IJS
@profetic. Hear hear!!
Mert should be taking care of the half time drinks and orange slices as he did in the world cup.
It’s got to a painful point where its cringe worthy for Per. He must be thinking himself “I wish we had another CB at the moment as I really need to be taken out the firing line for a while”. Can you imagine the guy steps onto the pitch knowing he’s off it and likely to let the team down. Sure enough he does it through the game and then walks off the pitch depsondent.
He must then go into training and the week before the next game with sick feeling off dread until kick off again. You may think I’m being over dramatic but it must be crushing the guy mentally.
Again well done Arsene for not seeing Per is nothing without Kos!
We need another CB that can play as a starter with Kos/Chambers/Hayden.
I’d go as far to say that Per is done and should be sold, he’s not good enough to start and coming off the bench he’d be worse as he’d be match rusty and even slower, he can no longer be relied upon. Sad but true!
@Ronny331
I was sayin that sh* all last season. But folks here were touting the stats of our defensive duo adding how well Per reads the game and going on about how that compensates for his lack of speed/agility.
@nygunner.
I remember us buying Per and early on I thought wtf have we bought?
I thought okay well lets sit make and wait for Per and Arsene to prove me wrong, (I’m always happy to be proved wrong for the good of the team!).
It’s never happened and this season It’s biting us in the Ar*e big time!
Sell Per in Jan Arsene and buy a CB and a DM player that can play at CB if needed, (ideally two DM players, one buy one loan maybe?)
Hayden must be devloped and intergrated asap.
@Ronny331
We got a prime group of young bucks waiting to show what they got, yet we keep usin the same tired ole players…SMDH
While elsewhere in the league and other football clubs throughout Europe and maybe the world, the young talent is killin it…
@brada–thanks.i thought i was insane,just thinking that thought of we missing giroud.you know arsenal believes in the fluid system of passing the ball and keeping possession but when we play a team that presses well and close down space,passing out from the back becomes difficult(for some reason,i dunno our passing has not been as fluid as the era of FAB,NASIRI,SONG ETC).now when this happens,we cannot build up play from the back and that becomes a problem.but with OLIVER WE HAVE THE OPTION OF BEING DIRECT(LONG BALLS TO OUR FRONT LINE,SINCE WE VE BEEN CLOSED DOWN ESPECAILLY WITH SIDES THAT PRESS WELL EG EVERTON,SOUTHAMPTON TOTTNHAM).not all teams will allow you keep the ball on the ground all the time except you do it absolutely brilliantly.so you need that gigantic figure that can create opening for DIRECTNESS,AS A PLAN B OPTION TO FLUIDITY
Fans of other clubs rally behind ther players to give them confidence and self belief while Arsenal fans target their players for abuse killing their self belief in the process. It is not surprising that gervinho who was labelled as a flop at Arsenal is a big hit at Roma where there are appreciating fans.
The writee picks up two incidents as to why flamini is rubbish. Incidentally in one of those incidents he/she admits that tge player lost the ball because he was fouled. So should players just kick away the ball in case they get fouled with referees not giving the fouls? This post typifies the media obsession with Arsenal
Free transfer -> GARBAGE!
Lets start playing Hayden at CDM, he can’t be any worse than the flame…
I see no reason blaming these players ( flamini actually came for free, an indication that he have nt what it takes for many other clubs), Per actually came in cheap (even at that it was in the last hour of the summer transfer after we collected a well deserve shower from Manure 8-2).
What I am saying is: the players are not to blame as we all know they are not the best of players out in the market when bidding starts. The problem is with actually with our stingy’ tactically-empty oldman. He has prove to the world his lack of ambition and concern over our seasonal disappointment. We needed a DM for long time, wenger refused (instead took arteta and force him) even when the likes of Tiote, Wanyama, bender etc were available that time.
If we’re to recover from all these nightmares, then we have to start addressing every problem with its natural solution ( just like when chealsea needed a striker, they brought in Costa and drogba and did not try to convert hazard or oscar).
We need atleast 3 quality signings come january which I am sure we can’t get ( a proven beast @ MF: Morgan, bender, my choices, a proven FB: in the likes of coleman, zabaleta, even though they nt coming, and a proven CB: in the likes of Koceilny, thiago silva, company etc