THINK of ArsenalÂ’s super-charged start to the season and the stand-out names trip off the tongue: Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor and Alexander Hleb among others.
ItÂ’s a roll-call of honour and enterprise which seems to grow with each passing victory as the Premier League leaders sweep all before them at home and abroad.
But one individual who might not receive such immediate heroic recognition from some supporters and the general public – but who surely will as the season develops – is Frenchman Mathieu Flamini.
While Fabregas has rightly dominated the headlines with his best-ever scoring spree in a season and his mighty assists, fellow midfielder Flamini has been a vital and unselfish foil beside him. If you will, just think a midfield version of Dider Deschamps and Eric Cantona.
Like those two, ArsenalÂ’s F-Team, Fabregas and Flamini, complement each other. One is the creative genius, the other the all-action heartbeat.
If Fabregas is one of the success stories of the season, then Flamini cannot be far behind.
It was only in April that boss Arsene Wenger publicly revealed that Flamini might have to move on, as he might not be getting enough games to keep him at the Emirates.
A pre-season heart-to-heart between player and boss resolved that situation, and Flamini, revitalised by the faith shown in him, has been rock-solid for the team – even keeping out Gilberto.
Right now Flamini could not be more happy, but it could all have been so different.
The 23-year-old said: “Yes, I did consider leaving in the summer. I just explained to the boss the way I was, not happy because I did not play.
“So I had a good discussion with the coach and he was telling me if I wanted to stay he would have confidence in me – and that good talk made the difference. So I said ‘Okay, I will stay and I will fight for my place’.
“I wanted to fight for the midfield places – I wanted to prove I was good enough to play there – and not at the right-back spot. Yes, I played left-back too, but my natural position is central midfield and that’s why I am happy here.
“That’s because I can prove to everyone I have my place in that team and I enjoy to play with my friends, my team-mates, and we want to continue this good run.”
If ArsenalÂ’s Young Guns continue to progress at their current rate they could end up dominating the English game for years.
Flamini, part of the 7-0 Champions League thrashing of Slavia Prague, said: “We are all very young, so of course we are going to improve and develop. But we have already been playing together for three years.
“And of course we want to get better and better, that’s why we work very hard every day in training. Our objective is to win every game. That’s what we train for. At the moment it’s working well and that’s why we have to continue as the championship is a long competition, a marathon.
“We have a fantastic team with some big qualities and we knew we had the possibilities to do something. At the start a lot of people didn’t believe in us. Now, every game, we try to prove they were wrong.
“We don’t play with any pressure, because, at the start nobody expected anything from us. Everybody was thinking we wouldn’t be in the race for the title.
“So we are playing every game with a freedom. Every game we go out to play to win. No, I’m not surprised how well this team has done as we knew we had a very strong team.
“I play with these guys, my friends, every day in training. I know their qualities and there is great team spirit. The confidence is very high and now it’s important to keep it going, and we have to work harder to continue.
“When we go out on to the pitch we feel we are going to win. Every time we play we have high confidence and know we have the possibility to win, and, to be honest we are going to Liverpool to win.
“At the moment we have the feeling we cannot lose any game because every time we play so well and win.
“For me, yes, this team is good enough to win the title and the Champions League. But we play game by game, and stay concentrated.”
Now Arsenal face a defining week in their season, even so soon, as they face Liverpool tomorrow and then entertain Manchester United. And Flamini canÂ’t wait.
The Frenchman added: “This will give us a good idea as to how well we can do and cope.
“It’s going to be important for us, but also for the other teams.
“They are bigger matches, important ones, against both Manchester United and also Liverpool because if we win them they will make all the difference.
“If that happens we could be maybe eight points clear – and we want to win them.”
