Has Flamini failed the test for Arsenal? Stats say NO!

It seems as though the debate about Arsenal and the defensive midfield role will go on as long as water is wet, or at least as long as Arsene Wenger is the manager of the Gunners. But at least the Frenchman decided to bring back our former player Mathieu Flamini on a free transfer last summer to give us another option in that position.

And the French midfielder did a pretty good job a lot of the time, without having the presence or ability of someone like Patrick Vieira. This season, however, has seen Flamini get quite a lot of criticism from the Arsenal fans and the calls for a new signing to shore up our midfield have only got louder, so has Flamini failed to fill that role since his return?

Well you might be surprised to see his EPL stats on Squawka.com compared to his team mate Mikel Arteta, to his own stats from last season and to the player everyone is raving about in that role, Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic.

Taken as an average per 90 minutes to level out the games and minutes played, Flamini this season comes top in the overall score, defensive score and interceptions and second in possession, pass completion percentage and blocks. And Flamini from last season came top in blocks, clearances, percentage of duels won and successful take ons, while coming second in overall score, defence score, attack score and interceptions.

Now while I know that stats do not tell the whole story, they are useful and do seem to suggest that Flamini is doing a good job for us this season as he did last time. Maybe our problems run too deep to be blamed on one player and from the looks of it, even if we had Matic it would make little difference. Perhaps the whole team tactics and attitude need to change. What do you think?

Tags Arteta Matic

32 Comments

  1. When you give your all and lose, it will be appreciated. But that’s not been happening for a while now.
    Wenger is not doing that simply because his decisions are not questioned by those who can fire him. He has become averse to accepting a second opinion too.
    He’s been playing players out of position for some years now. Even if it is costing the whole team, yes even then. It means that he’s out there to satisfy his whims; maybe not 10 years back but since the past 5 years, yes.

    Those supporting Wenger are in a state of learned helplessness. They have accepted that top 4 is the best we can do and there is nothing anybody can do about it. Hence they are too scared to see a change, or make a change for that matter of fact. Top 4 is the comfort zone, and they will argue fallaciously that if wenger goes we will fall.
    Well, one thing is that unless you fall, you don’t rise. Then another thing which is obvious now is that Wenger cannot deliever based on his last 2-3 seasons. We haven’t played as a unit for at least 3 seasons now.

    There’s no way Wenger beyond this season, unless he wins the EPL or UCL. So let’s give him time till the end of this season, but the fans need to let the board know that they are capable of ruining their balance sheet. You hit where it hurts the most. Boycott Arsenal products for a while.

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    1. I wonder if the AKB on this site are getting paid or something for defending Wenger.
      This year we started only hoping for a miracle since the team was not complete,the hopes were crashed quickly,nearly everyone in the football world don t expect the Arsenal of Wenger to win a major trophy.Some people out there have the audacity to defend the man as a coach when he is not even able to form a coherent team.
      Some team out there loose but it s because of their quality,they mostly represent a real team.Arsenal looks like a botched job where you put things together who are not supposed to be there,it s ugly weird and pathetic.

    2. Everyone here says Wenger is a specialist i failure and so are the fans also, Most of them are cowards and cant even even utter a word when they a seeing the obvious things. Its like they are put on gunpoint never to say a word. Is Arsenal FC a government property where you not allowed to say anything negative. Honestly the only guy with balls is the one who had a poster ” SPEND SOME MONEY” , the rest are a bunch of ass holes. Wenger has already injected his virus to the fans. Lets wait wait and see what happens next week, RVP, Rooney, Falcao, Di maria. Still imagining who is going to mark Di maria. Very sure every cross will be a goal.

  2. Stats don’t move out of the middle of the park because he is man marking and then allow the opposition player a free run through the middle knowing that Nacho and Per are the CB’s. This leads to the lb needing to give away a foul which then leads to a goal.

    Stats don’t tell you that bit….

    1. It’s ok Robin because no matter what sh*tty decisions our players make on the pitch, Wenger will always be blamed. In fact, let’s blame Wenger for the perfect free kick that Swansea scored that not even Schmeichel would have saved. As I said before, we all praise Sanchez individually for his work rate and good attitude but we don’t dare praise Wenger for motivating him to play like that, but when it comes to poor work rate and lack of hunger, those players get off scott free and the blame gets pushed onto Wenger. It cannot go both ways! Our players need to start taking more responsibility on the pitch, if makes me sick that they earn bucket loads of money each week but can’t put in a decent shift for 90 mins. If ONE player can do it, the rest have no excuse!

      1. @ big gun:
        I thought that wenger managed he team and it’s in his hands to choose those that deserve the starting spot. But he persists with the same line up every time.
        By the way it’s his fault that Flamini ain’t playing up to standards because he didn’t recruit.
        #whimsicalone

      2. Sanchez is self discipline by himself. His attitude is barca attitude but I don’t know will he be next season. Can he change the rest or the rest change him. Carzola was outstanding 1st season but how come he so shi* now.

        If you got children, one is well behaved and the other one was spoiled, is not your job to teach or correct the one that spoiled.

        1. Instead he correct the spoiled, he said his well behaved one, don’t have a good game. He not only lost his manager quality, he can’t even give a good speech to cover his fault, worse than a con.

        2. right now id take Pep, as a couch even if its jes for 1 season, to teach our players how to press like Sanchez does..

      3. listen to yourself big gun, Wenger motivated Sanchez? ? who do you think you will kid? why not the whole team then? Sanchez is self motivated player. we are Lucky he’s yet to be motivated by Wenger. coz if that happens then the is history. Ozil remember? ?

  3. Flamini has made a lot of individual mistakes which were costly for us.
    But we haven’t defended as a unit in any game since that 1-0 win over beskistas. Put our team under team under pressure and they are unable to absorb it consistently while playing. What’s also appalling is that wenger doesn’t keep instructing the players. Even our substitutes aren’t adequately instructed before they come on( I might be wrong on this).
    Let’s be clear here, football on the surface level is about goals and the manager’s job is to make everyone feel adequately important irrespective of where they play. This could explain why Ramsey is negligent of his defensive duties these days, and the same applies to all our players.
    If wenger doesn’t instruct(order) the midfielders and wingers to defend, they will not concentrate on that enough.
    Anyway, Flamini is old now and has to be replaced. But sometimes you look at his tackles and wish that the other players would show the same grit and determination.

  4. Matic would have made a lot of difference.
    A few:
    Diane’s goal.
    Spuds goal.
    Chelsea’s penalty goal.

    There can be more, I don’t remember though.

  5. You attack as a unit and defend as a unit.
    I recall.many a time Henry chasing back and he’s a world class forward also how many times has Rooney cleared his lines.Poor coaching and poor leadership on the pitch is part of the problem.
    Whether our players are good enough is also questionable.

  6. No we can’t blame one player.
    Ozil Debuchy Giroud Gnabry
    Ospina Diaby Arteta Kos injured.
    Sanogo Rosicky Coquelin
    Podolski Campbell rarely used.
    Mertesacker Monreal Flamini
    Szczesny Ramsey Wilshere Cazorla
    Wellbeck Chamberlain below their best,
    Chambers learning and Walcott just back.
    Sanchez our one form player from 27 squad !!!
    Yet Arsenal is close to top 4 EPL and ECL round of 16.
    Should I celebrate or commiserate?
    I am confused 🙂

  7. Chamber struggle last match, Wenger did known but his excuse is he got no experience defender on the bench, Wtf what excuse is that. You promote Bellerin but you got no confident of him that what for he is on the bench, to look nice?.

    Wenger mentality is like that, every season he will find his actual 11, the rest are just back up for the micky mouse cup, 80 over mins sub or his 11 injured but once his injured back, the back up go to the bench, rotation not in his dictionary.

  8. ArsenaL’s Line-up against Manure ..

    Chambers-mert-monreal-gibbs

    fLamini-ramsey.

    OX-sanchez-carzola.

    WeLbeck.

    .Do u Lot expect anything different? ……. Certainly not under this dictator Wenger

  9. Start the protests next home game we cant let this continue same issues not addressed every week simply not acceptable wenger out out out and right now not end of season this has to be done otherwise this great will continue to go further into decline lets stop it now wenger out!

    1. Start to protest now by writing “Wenger out ” on a piece of A4 paper, post to the emirates then make some copies and get your mates to do the same.those in London stick up posters all over the emirates,Colney and the armoury .

      1. I’m going to print off a few take to the Man U game and pass out to fellow Gooners in the pub,walking to the ground and on the tube .please as many others do the same.do not make to anything offensive just Wenger out as do not want anyone to get arrested.
        Please visit the she wore a yellow ribbon website as this is there idea and I’m just sharing.
        Come on its time to stop talking and posting and take some action.

  10. Have my ticket for the Man U game and in a lot of ways it’s a make or break game for Wenger and our season.
    The fans me included are already nervous about this game due to our poor recent record against them.
    Lose an early goal and the crowd will turn on Wenger and the player’s confidence will go.
    Win the game and Wenger will have a stay of execution,lose or draw and it’s time for Wenger to accept he can no longer manage our great club (not his) and either move upstairs or resign.

  11. The team have become very confusing you can’t tell what is wrong.against Sawanse chamber was awuful the whole match, carzola,ramsey,metesacker static as always….but what surprise me is the AW just watchs chamber get humiliated by second choice average team player and do nothing you can’t say he has no option flamin can coupe better , and there was berrline I also think he is very quick can defender better AW seem very tired of trying new things. it just is amazing they just don’t help each other it is not flamini or some specific player you can point your finger at.it a total dysfunctioning unit the team looked since the start of this season.

  12. Hello fellow gunners, I feel all our pains and shame. I hope and it won’t last forever. I have some questions to ask about our dear club in other to put my view about the way things are with our club in perspective. My question are: 1. Is Wenger the owner of Arsenal. 2. If not who? 3. Is this individual or group of people are football people. 4. Why he/she/they give so much power to Wenger. Certainly, I have answers to some of my questions but I’m in confused state of mind. We put so much blames on the coach some of which he rightly deserves but if the club is not his. What are the owners views on the state of the club. They knew we are one central defender short last season and yet they allow us go into another season short of two not one central defender. The team cries for young, atheletic and stronger DM cost of artea’s age and Flamini irrationality yet nothing is done. I ask again are they football person or do they have football knowledge. I’m an AKB 70% and AAA 30%. But I know when change is required but I don’t where and when because of my believe which is I don’t believe this club , the owner or group of owner, is capable of giving new coach £200,000,000 to fix this mess we are in. So I blame on-field failure and problems on Wenger which 10% to me and the rest on the board because they allow the coach to do anything he likes with the club.

  13. Stats are stats, but they don’t tell the full story, never have and never will.

    Stats don’t cover the nuances of every tackle, every pass, every movement.

    Stats cover the black and white, but not the massive grey area in between.

    Stats can be good, but also can be simplistic, like us fans. 😉

  14. With just 20m available in Jan, WTF, use Chambers as CDM, but Schar for 10m and another CB maybe van Dijk for 8m, then at least we have some better defence for last 6 months. Sell Arteta and Flamini in summer, sign top CDM, Bender, Kondogbia and release Rosicky and Podolski and get Draxler and a youngster in midfield.

  15. The problem is wenger if he doesn’t leave we are cooked.Why can’t he let Campbell and Podolski go to places where their worth is appreciated????
    No wonder he’s never won a champions league trophy and never will

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