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What Does Arsenal Performance Against Tottenham Mean For Mathieu Flamini?
As we saw in the post-match interview, Mathieu Flamini felt pretty good about his performance in the North London Derby. The French defensive midfielder scored two goals – one of which was a bullet from outside the box – to seal the win for Arsenal and dye North London red for the time being.
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Francis Coquelin is Arsenal’s starting defensive midfielder for the time being, and it ended up being his replacement who was the match winner. Coquelin has a minor injury in his knee, which might mean that he could miss weeks of fixtures. So will Flamini be the one to step up in his place?
Aside from his goalscoring contribution, Mathieu Flamini did not play extraordinarily well in the first North London derby of the season. Coquelin has far better defensive skills, and though he is not very capable in attack he plays a much more necessary role in the Arsenal team.
Flamini is not one known for scoring goals, and he also does not get much playing time. He has not played a game in the League Cup since coming back to the Emirates on a free from A.C. Milan, and his last appearance in the competition was in 2005.
One thing to be noted is that the fact that this has been his only appearance since 2005 shows how far he has slipped down the pecking order. Though Coquelin has improved massively in recent months he was on loan in League One last season, and Flamini was still the last option in defensive midfield.
Essentially, this one-off performance should mean absolutely nothing in terms of team selection for Arsene Wenger. The fact that a defensive midfielder comes on for a game and scores two goals in 78 minutes means multiple things – it does not mean that he has improved at his position.
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In the build-up to the second Arsenal goal, Flamini was marking Christian Eriksen in the case of a counter attack when the ball went sailing into the air from a deflected shot. Eriksen stayed put, and Flamini chased the ball down and stuck it in the back of the net. That makes it sound far more simple than it was, but it was a case of a man on a mission with something to prove, rather than a player who has massively improved his game.
If Mathieu Flamini wants to earn a route back into the first team, he must contribute a lot more to the Arsenal side. Scoring two goals in the North London derby is one of the most important things you can do as an Arsenal player, however he has not shown as of yet that he can contend with Premier League as well as Coquelin – not by a long shot.(Pun Intended)
Next: Mathieu Flamini Did Something No One Else Could