Quick update on the Arsenal players involved over the past few days of internationals.

Theo Walcott scored another lovely, Thierry Henry-esque goal for the England Under 21's. He's been doing well for them for sometime now, especially on the goalscoring front (he had an average game today), and let's hope he can shift this form over to his club games:

Things are not going so well for his teammate Mathieu Flamini however. Having finally broken into the France squad with his super performances for Arsenal this season, Mathieu picked up an ankle injury while playing for France's 2nd team against Congo today. It was a pretty under-the-radar friendly, and an odd one, since France are also playing Spain on Wednesday. They somehow contrived to do 2 friendlies this week - with Clichy, Sagna, Flamini and Diaby playing against the Congo, whilst Gallas is in the squad that will play France. Anyhow, let's hope it's not a serious injury, because he's one of the main reasons why the team is ticking.

And lastly, just a word for the much-maligned Alex Song. Even though he's played most of his games for us at centre-back this season, he remains a contender for the midfield role, especially after Lasagne Diarrhea's departure to Portsmouth. His performances at the African Cup of Nations have been excellent in that role, and he provided yet another assist, clipping a ball over the defence for Mbia to head home the opening goal against Tunisia. He came on as a sub in the first game, immediately had an impact, and hasn't looked back since.

I know most Arsenal fans verge on hating him (probably because of the work of a few irate bloggers, rather than too much wrongdoing on his part), but he does have a lot of talent, and he might come back a changed man from this ACN. I remember Manu Eboue returning from the one in 2006 after having had a shifty season until then, and he was a changed footballers on his return, and one of our best players in our adventure to the Champions League final. 

1 man went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

I was fortunate enough to get tickets for the last home game in the Grove's debut season, and the atmosphere was tremendous yesterday. Unfortunately a certain cowardly left-back failed to appear - not on the pitch, on the bench, and not even in the stadium. It was disappointing because fans had probably been preparing all season for this moment, and all the songs that had been prepared had scant opportunity to be sung, but i've decided to theme this post accordingly.

2 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Arsenal once again showed all their failings of the season, and Chelsea showed their strengths. Arsenal went under the cosh from the kick-off, but recovered well to have a strong spell of posession, and then one the stroke of half-time when Julio Baptista broke free of the last man and was brought down in the penalty box, Gilberto duly tucked away the penalty. As a bonus, Boulahrouz was also sent off for being the last man. Arsenal had the initiatve now, and for the first 10 minutes of the second-half they had bags of chances.

3 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

And that was symbolic of the season really; Adebayor, Hleb, and notably (and unsurprisingly) Baptista all squandered chances, and Arsenal conceded an equaliser from a cross - sloppy marking as usual, Michael Essien heading in at the near post. Chelsea had shown great resilience in coming back into the game, and as the fullbacks pushed up for Arsenal, they somehow managed to dominate possession with their 10 men.

4 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Some good singing on the day - "F*ck Off Mourinho", "Shit Club, No History", "Liverpool", and "Ashley Cole, is a f*cking arseh*le" amongst others. I did enjoy the "Sacked in the summer, you're getting sacked in the summer" whenever Jose Mourinho began his histrionics.

5 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Chelsea almost stole it later on in their period of dominance, when neat footwork from Joe Cole saw him place the ball high into the top left corner past Lehmann, when facing almost away from goal. But it was rightly disallowed for an offside in the buildup. Arsenal poured forward in the last 10 minutes, squandered several chances, and then with almost the last kick of the game Eboue was played in on the right, and he wound up and unleashed a high, hard shot that thumped off the crossbar. Chelsea played well, and deserved their draw, but a winner would have been nice, because Arsenal had been the brighter, more attacking force throughout.

6 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 6 men, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

I can't for the life of me understand why Khalid Boulahrouz even bothered to foul, or try and win the ball off Julio Baptista. Anybody who watches football knows that when the Beast is clear through on goal, he either softly caresses the ball into the keeper's midriff or sends it somewhere near the corner flag. Silly man, deserved his red card for being stupid.

7 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 7 men, 6 men, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

As I said, the game was symbolic of Arsenal's failings - inability to finish chances, to cope with pressure, and to concentrate and defend properly. The other side of the coin was displayed by Fulham's other team who with 10 men fought their way back into the game, and almost won it. Incredibly irritating, incredibly resilient.

8 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 8 men, 7 men, 6 men, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Even my dad, who was watching his first ever football match in person, said quite confidently that the Arsenal looked pointless up front, and needed a winger, preferrably a left winger. This is the same thing that fans have been saying all season, and if my dad who knows very little about football found it obvious enough to give such confident punditry, then it definitely is obvious. This of course means that in the summer we will sell two wingers and sign a central midfielder. What do I know anyways?

9 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 9 men, 8 men, 7 men, 6 men, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Watching the lap of honour after the game, there were some interesting things to be noted. For one, it was called a "lap of appreciation", which I guess is fair enough when you are not competing for any honours at all. Mathieu Flamini seemed alive and well, which was nice considering that many of us suspected that Arsene Wenger had drowned him in the hydrotherapy pool. I also noticed (albeit from a great distance) that Jeremie Aliadiere seemed to be wearing spectaces. Strikers with bad eyesight are about as valuable as goalkeepers with no hand (no disrespect meant to the fine participants of either the Blind or Disabled World Cups).

Anyways, the season's done. Tied for 3rd place on points, but in 4th on goal difference, I feel the team has moved up a level from last season. With the kids blossoming in the background, all that's needed is 1 or 2 good experienced players (left winger included), and things could be very, very interesting next year. Seriously. Last season Arsenal only got 4th spot on the last day of the season, and stuttered throughout. Of the 6 league games played with Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool, they lost 4, drew 1 and won 1. Pathetic. I was worried at the end of last season.

This year, of the 6 league games played with those 3, we've won 3, drawn 2 and lost 1 (to Liverpool). Both draws were against Chelsea, and both involved them coming from behind to equalise for 1-1 (and one of those was in injury time). Add to that 3-1 and 6-3 away wins over Liverpool in the FA and Carling Cups and 2 wins and 2 draws over Tottenham in 4 games, and Arsenal have dealt comfortably with the big teams. It's the small teams that have posed the problem - losses to West Ham (x2), Man City, Sheff Utd and Fulham have been unacceptable, and you add those up and it's 15 points more to the total. This is not unrealistic because in each of those matches, Arsenal dominated (sometimes 20 shots to 1), but just allowed the points to slip away. Add to those results the pairs of draws against struggling Newcastle (1-1 and 0-0) and Middlesborough (1-1 and 1-1) and that would be another 8 points. It all adds up - that's roughly 20 points, with those added to our total, we'd be contenders. All we need is to gain experience and be clinical.

10 men went to bed, went to bed with Ashley, 10 men, 9 men, 8 men, 7 men, 6 men, 5 men, 4 men, 3 men, 2 men, 1 man and his mobile phone, went to bed with Ashley

Not by any means the most talented player on earth, but at the same time one of the most consistently underrated, Mathieu Flamini has finally stumbled upon some kind of recognition in the shape of a call-up to the French national team by coach/nutcase Raymond Domenech. It's a great moment for the Flamster, who has had an interesting career so far.

He started off at Olympique Marseille, and broke through to the first team fairly late, but with considerable impact - at 18, a spate of injuries led to his inclusion in central midfield, and he kept his place, helping to drive Marseille to the UEFA Cup final. He showed a lot of determination, and quite a bit of creativity and enterprise in taking the team forward, as well as supporting the defence. He was one of the most promising midfielders in France by the end of that season, and what was most surprising was that at the ripe old age of 18, he was still on a youth contract. Compare this to players like Fabregas, Walcott, Rooney, etc, who sign full-time pre-contracts that go into effect on their 17th birthdays, and you have Flamini almost 19 and still not on a senior contract.

This provided a loophole, because since Flamini hadn't signed a professional contract yet, he was free to go wherever he pleased without compensation. At the time he was having problems at Marseille, and when he met Arsene Wenger on a plan and discussed his problems with him, Wenger moved quickly to snap Flamini up. It was a transfer that was deemed legal according to FIFA rules, but Marseille disputed it in the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). Technically, the CAS had no jurisdiction over his transfer, but Arsenal were keen to avoid controversy and let the player and team get on with their work, and so they paid the compensation.

Flamini has since proved a very handy player for the Arsenal, but perhaps a different one to what French fans might have envisioned. At Marseille he was a smart box-to-box player, who could drive a midfield. When Arsene Wenger signed him, he said that one of Flamini's talents was his ability to play creatively in both defence and offence, and to use the ball well. Mathieu has since been regarded as more of a workhorse at Arsenal - a young, modern day Ray Parlour or Gilles Grimandi; full of determination and spirit, but not the most technically gifted. This is unfortunate because Flamini is really a very underrated player with more-than-admirable technique, but unfortunately in a midfield that has had Vieira, Edu, Cesc Fabregas, Pires, Bergkamp, Reyes, Van Persie, Rosicky and Alex Hleb since his arrival, his light has shone a bit dimmer than it did in France. Those guys are amongst the most talented players in the world, nevermind Arsenal or the Premiership, and it's easy to see why Flamini has been viewed as a water-carrier whilst playing alongside them.

The truth is that Flamini is a very talented guy. Physically and mentally, his workrate, determination and doggedness equal if not surpass those of the names I previously mentioned. He is also a quite decent player, although you don't see that from him when Cesc, Hleb and Rosicky are on their game, because they take over as playmakers. He is happy to play his role for the team, and chip in with goals wherever possible. However, if anyone watched the Arsenal v Portsmouth game from 2005-2006 where the Gunners were 4-0 in 15 minutes (that was my last time at Highbury), you would have seen two exceptional through balls from Flamini to Henry, who scored off both of those. That day a lot of players were missing, and the Flamster was in the centre along with Gilberto, and duly took the initiative. Flamini definitely has bags of talent, but in the context of the team, he always plays the supporting role, and you have to give him some credit for that.

Flamini also possesses remarkable intelligence; he chugs around the midfield well, but in Arsenal's run to the Champions' League final last year, he was terrific as a left-back. He got up and down the field, and kept some of Europe's top wingers quiet. It's not easy to just step into a completely unfamiliar position like that and do so well. He also has played at right-back, and over the past two seasons has played in a midfield three, a midfield five, and on the left and right flanks, and done decently. He is not the kind of player that is going to beat his man and score a stunning goal, but he understands the game well, understands what he needs to contribute to it, and understands how to support his teammates. These are all highly important, but highly underrated traits.

So people should look at all these things when they immediately write him off as a Grimandi or Parlour or Deschamps (the latter two did some great things in my opinion), and also remember that he's just 22. Not every footballer is perfect from the age of 17 like Fabregas. Some develop much slower, and imagine in 2-3 years when Flamini has significant international and club experience under his belt, has won a few things, and has played and done well in so many positions. He will be invaluable, and one of those players that you never ever want missing from the squad. Technically, he will probably never take the world by storm, and physically, he will probably never tackle the opposition into submission, but hard work, determination and intelligence are all equally important characteristics, especially in a team full of artists like Arsenal.

Well done Mathieu, and congratulations!