John Fitzsimmons
Today, fellow Gooners, we are greeted with the unhappy situation that our talismanic midfield enforcer Mathieu Flamini will miss the game against Southampton due to suspension. This leaves us with a gaping hole in our master plan as Flamini has become the difference between a balanced Arsenal, comfortable in defence and lethal in attack, and the attack-heavy defensively-weak shambles of an Arsenal we saw against all the top teams last term.
Since his return to Arsenal, Flamini has gone on to become the most vital player in the team. If he is not starting the next attack through a well-timed and robust tackle, or a pass to and in front of – a very important distinction, pay attention Arteta – one of his more creatively minded midfield players, he is doing it through willpower and sheer volume. I think that it is not a stretch to say that without his considerable ability to marshal the midfield, we find it a lot more difficult to pick up points. Wenger must address this issue as a matter of priority as I do not believe, with the greatest respect, that Mikel Arteta is up to the job. Unfortunately, as Milan themselves found out, Flamini can be very injury prone – such is the burden of combating the more physical side of the opposition week in week out – we must be prepared for more of the same.
The forgotten man
I am convinced that the answer to this problem is staring Wenger and co. in the face - the forgotten man, or Thomas Vermaelen. Our club captain and former star defender has clearly fallen out of favour with Wenger and Bould since the emergence of the irregular, but effective, Mertesacker-Koscielny partnership, but I think perhaps he has not been given the opportunity to prove his worth in recent times and has become somewhat unfairly marginalised.
I believe that now is the perfect time for TV5 to remodel himself and prove his worth as a vital part of a balanced team. As the best football playing centre-back in our squad, Thomas is the perfect blend of combative defending and technical proficiency. He is a natural leader having captained both Arsenal and Ajax and is every bit as vocal in the team as Flamini himself. It must be remembered that to effectively cover the Flamini role, Thomas needs to act as little more than a shield for the defence, picking up the scraps in that cavernous hole between defence and midfield before giving the ball to the more gifted players in the team like Ozil, Ramsey and Cazorla. Anyone who doubts his ability going forward only needs to look at his goalscoring record in his two full seasons at Arsenal.
I know that many will dismiss this suggestion as frivolous armchair management (which it is), but I think that not making use of a resource as valuable as TV5 amounts to little more than negligence. I know that many will also consider this a square peg for a round hole and that he is lacking ‘a little bit’ sharpness, but I would argue that the Verminator is much more suited for the role than Wiggy and moreover, deserves the chance to make his mark on the team once more.
Regardless of whether the Belgian is suitable for DM or not, I for one would certainly like to see more of him in the team. While I would agree with his critics that the performances leading to his being dropped were unacceptable, you only have to look at the resurgence of Laurent Koscielny to see that all is not lost. A little confidence goes a long way in football and a little protection in front of the back four goes a lot further.
