Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has asked Mathieu Flamini to give his final decision on whether he wants to stay on at the Emirates or not. The Frenchman has progressed as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe and is in demand by a number of clubs including Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Juventus.
Flamini’s current contract at Arsenal expires at the end of the season after which he shall be a free agent. It’s not that Flamini wants an outright move away from London; he demands his wages to be increased to 55,000 pounds per week which Arsene Wenger is not eager to agree to.
Wenger says:
“We are getting close to ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
“He wants to stay and I believe him. But as long as he has not signed, he is free to sign where he wants. We have set ourselves a target at the end of April to finalise the situation, one way or the other.
“April is an absolute deadline because, afterwards, we have to make decisions in the transfer market.”
“My first target is to keep the team together, but we want to continue to respect our wage structure. That is very important. Flamini has to fit in that.”
So Flamini has until the end of this month to decide on his future, or the end of it, at Arsenal. Wenger appears to be getting tough these days. Maybe the shock of ending up barren-handed this season even though at one stage the Gunners were in a great chance of clinching the treble is getting to the Frenchman.