Flamini Exit; Bould love for Merida; Arsene's Reserve Wish

A disapointing piece of news to hit the wires yesterday was that Mathieu Flamini wants to leave Arsenal due to a lack of opportunities -and explanations- at the club.

Apparently, the French midfielder is ready to buy out the last year of his contract for £1.1million.

As usual with midfielder transfer rumours , Juventus are said to want to buy him. By my reckoning, if all these reports are to be believed, Juventus will have over 40 midfielders next season. Whilst interested in a move abroad,  Flamini is also believed to be more than willing to stay in the Premiership.




All the more worrying is that Flamini's camp insist that Wenger will not give him an explanation as to why he's not being selected. Without hearing Arsenal's point of view, I can only express my dismay that a player who has more spirit and battling skills than most of the current midfield, would be allowed leave.

I feel this situation may lie with his refusal to play at left-back at the start of the season. As much as I like Flamini, if you're a professional you have to play where you are selected. Having said that, it's never nice to work in a situation where you're not happy (although, some may say that the huge wage and the fact you're playing football for a living should be more than a comfort). One can only speculate on how resolute Flamini was about not playing left-back. Maybe Wenger thought that Flamini had a great future as a full-back but the French midfieder didn't want his career to go down the 'Lauren route'. However, I don't think it's ever a good idea to go to the papers with your tales of woe. Let's hope this situation can be resolved as Flamini is a great asset to the club.

Merida
Steve Bould has been praising Fran Merida's talents. Bould told Arsenal.com "His feet are fantastic. Everything can go through Fran. He's very left footed but he still receives on his right side and likes to put people in. He wants to receive off the back players too and gets them playing which really keeps the team ticking over."

Personally, I'd like to see this guy given a run between now and the end of the season. What I do not want to see is Arsenal depending on him next season as has so often been the case with young places in recent seasons at the club.

Reserve Teams
And finally, Arsene has declared his support for Reserve sides to be allowed play in the Football League. Whilst it would be good for Arsenal, I don't think such a move would be good for football. I think it devalues the lower divisions and takes away league places from smaller clubs with a smaller budget, but a more loyal core support than a reserve side would ever hope to have. I think the answer to the bigger clubs is to be not so greedy in stockpiling players.

The case for Aliadiere

It's been a dark, depressing period of time since the thrashing at the hands of Liverpool on Saturday. The Arsenal performances was simply horrendous. The only time that I can recall during Wenger's reign that they were as bad was when they were thrashed 6-1 by Man Utd in 00/01. At least we had Igors Stepanovs to blame that day; and we didn't have a team then that will supposedly dominate the future of football.

The very thought of Saturday sickens me, so I'm not going to dwell on it. If you're a sadist and want more analysis or dissection, click on any of the excellent Arsenal links on the side bar.

However, one thought did occur to me during the game that I would like to expand on - the dire performances of Baptista - or more specifically howthey have affected the performances of Aliadiere in recent times. (Aliadiere was injured for the game on Saturday.)

The high point of Baptista's season was his four goals in Anfield in the Carling cup - which seems like a lifetime ago. On that occasion, Aliadiere was the outstanding player in the match as he created 4 goals game and also scored himself.



On the occasions that they played together in the Premiership, they looked as if they had forgotten that the objective of football was to score goals. There's no doubting that Aliadiere looked nervous and lacking confidence. I feel that it doesn't help a player like that when he's playing alongside a guy who doesn't look like he has any first, second or third touch. (I think I may have stolen that description of Baptista from Arseblogger!) I also think that in Aliadiere's recent run in the team, the midfield have been awful - and have created very little opportunities for the striker.

Anyhow, to get to my point... many bloggers, including Arseblogger, think that Wenger should play a 4-5-1 against West Ham on Saturday. I disagree completely. Whilst taking the point that we are by no means guaranteed of 4th place, I think we should also be building for next season. 4-5-1 takes us backwards in the evolution of this team.

For me, it generally has to be 4-4-2 for Arsenal.
(unless we're playing Barcelona in the Nou Camp or something similar!)
I think Aliadiere - if fit- should start up front against West Ham. Before you all start chucking rotten tomatoes at me, let's look at the Frenchman's performances this season when he had more than 20 minutes and did not play as Julio 'The Beast' Baptista's partner up front.

October, West Brom v Arsenal 0-2, Carling Cup
Not the greatest of opposition.The Frenchman started and scored two goals as he played most of the game alongside Walcott.

November, Everton v Arsenal 0-1, Carling Cup
Aliadiere started alongside Adebayor in a roaming role. Here's how the Guardian described him:
Arsenal's oldest outfield starter here was the excellent Jérémie Aliadière, the 23-year-old a constant menace when charging from deep, with some of their slick interplay and passing taking the breath.

December, Arsenal v Portsmouth 2-2, Premiership
Not a great game for the Frenchman who started alongside RVP. Adebayor came on for him when we were 2-0 down and rescued the day.

December, Sheff Utd v Arsenal 0-1, Premiership
Another poor game for Aliadiere alongside RVP. Having said that, did anybody play well?

January, Arsenal v Spurs 3-1, Carling Cup
Aliadiere started alongside Adebayor for this one and had a stormer. He also scored the goal in extra-time that sealed the win for Arsenal.

February, Arsenal v Wigan 2-1, Premiership
Aliadiere came on with the Gunners trailing by a goal with 23 minutes to spare. Ok, Baptista was on the pitch; but so was Henry and Adebayor.Aliadiere played as winger when he came on. He was involved in the build-up to the equaliser. Overall, he was an important factor in the comeback with some good passes and dribbles against a tiring defence.

February, Bolton v Arsenal 1-3 FA Cup
Aliadiere came on for extra-time.Baptista was also on the pitch for this one but was partnered by Adebayor. Aliadiere, playing more as a winger, dribbled and carved out the opening for Ljungberg, who controlled before flashing a left-foot finish across Jaaskelainen to make it 2-1 Arsenal.

February, Arsenal v Blackburn 0-0 FA Cup
A rarity, in that Aliadiere started alongside Henry. Most of the team were a little bit flat on this occasion. Aliadiere deserved a penalty when Stephen Warnock brought him down but the ref played on.

M'lud, I think that I have shown you that when Aliadiere has played alongside Adebayor he's done well.
You may not agree with me on the Frenchman's qualities but I all I ask is that you think about his performances disconnected from Baptista's performances for Arsenal this season. He's not done too well with RVP either, but some say that even the great Henry struggles with RVP. I think Aliadiere deserves a chance alongside the man from Togo on Saturday. To play 4-5-1 against the likes of West Ham would be a step backwards for the team.

And remember... the slough of despondency is the birthplace of hope. Let us not forget that we won the double the season after the 6-1 mauling at Old Trafford.

See you all tomorrow.