The little French energizer bunny is proving to be the gem of Wenger's summer signings this season and what a bargain at £0. I can't help but think AC Milan misjudged Flamini's form slightly when they released him from his contract and that Arsenal have benefitted fully. I'll take that, and I'll take a point against Man City.
I doubt whether any Arsenal fan is ecstatic about the 1-1 draw against Manchester City at the Emirates, but it's far better than most of us imagined. We were taking bets on how many Citeh would get past us, all in jest of course.... But the Gunners proved us all wrong with their constant harassing whenever City had the ball and belief in themselves. It may sound a little cliché, but after 6-3 at Man City, 5-1 against Liverpool and the most recent 6-0 defeat at the bus stop in Fulham, belief could have been hard to find in the home teams' locker room on Saturday.
I've criticized Wenger's inability to motivate his players appropriately in the past, and I still question the mentality the players have when walking out onto the pitch sometimes, but against the best team in Manchester he must have said something to light a fire under his players. An encouraging performance, for sure, and hopefully a performance that will give us the injection of motivation we needed going into the last six games.
On paper, six games we should get maximum points from, so although I don't see the Premier League title within our reach, I still think a lot of things could happen over the next few weeks. Perhaps the team (and fans) can be accused of focusing too heavily on the upcoming FA Cup semi final, seeing it as our most realistic chance at a trophy, and perhaps losing sight of what was right in front of us at the time; Chelski, Swansea, City. We now have 7 (or 8) games left in our season, so it's time to buckle down, perhaps get a couple of players back in the next week, and fight for every single point available. It's not impossible, far from it.
The other thing that is constantly on my mind is Wenger's contract situation. All the signs are there that he's going to sign, and he's notorious for waiting to sign a new contract, but it's a little over a month before the end of the season and he's still in no mans land. I can't be the only one concerned? Not just concerned that we might lose our manager of the last 19 years, but if he is going to leave, let us know so we can get moving on trying to find a replacement. Something needs to happen, whatever it is, but it needs to happen soon before it becomes too distracting.
Everton up next, and they're a team that is currently looking right up our skirts and poses the only real threat for 4th place competition. A win would go a long way to ensuring we get Champions League football next season.
Come on you Gunners!
