Flaming Flamini

Six months ago, Mathieu Flamini seemed to be on his way out of the Emirates. Unable to win a regular place in the team, he considered buying out his contract. What a difference now!
'After the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas'

As Arsenal's season soars with their performances, so does one little man's dominance and reputation. Like the team's performance so far, Mathieu Flamini has proved his critics wrong with amazing performances in the centre of the park.

It seems like years ago (April 2007 to be exact) that his critics were crying for his head; for him to leave the Gunners after his lack of interest and engagement with the team. Indeed, Flamini himself admitted a lack of first-team opportunities could force him to buy out the final year of his contract and leave Arsenal. He was unhappy that he was playing so few games, even though there were a string of injuries to the starting line-up. The defensive midfielder was recruited by the Gunners from Marseille in the summer of 2004, but failed to secure a regular place in the starting 11. At the beginning of this season, Flamini was considered to be behind Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva, Abou Diaby and even Denilson for the central midfield positions.

Instead, after the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas. His steady passing, accurate tackling and ferocious determination to win games juxtapose nicely to the incisive passing, delicate chips and brilliant crosses of his Spanish teammate. He works hard throughout the whole match in any game and never backs away from any tackles.

In the past, if there have been any complaints about Flamini's play, they have concerned about his often quarrelsome behaviour. To the delight of all fans, the 23-year-old has showed that he has matured over the past year. Indeed, he has even played peacemaker in a couple of flare-ups during matches.

Kudos to the Professor for taming the Flame and bringing the best out of him.