Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini has revealed that he is still very close to former-Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.
The former AC Milan player paired up with Fabregas during his first stint with The Gunners and the two of them were at the heart of the midfield for the club’s serious title challenge back in 2007/2008.
Talking to the club’s official website, Flamini admitted that team spirit is crucial to any successful side and he has revealed that Arsene Wenger’s current crop of players are just as spirited as the players were back in 2008.
“I am still very close with Cesc. He is still a very good friend of mine,” Flamini told Arsenal Player. “It’s difficult in football to have close friends because of the competitions but I’m still close with Cesc.
“I saw him in the summer, he has a little girl now and I’m really happy for him. He’s happy where he is and I always keep him in my heart.
“Sometimes you have connections with players and you can’t explain it. We had a lot of players [in 2007/08] who were very close off the pitch.
“I have a lot of good memories [of that time]. I remember the cohesion in the group, everyone was fighting for each other on the pitch, it was a great team spirit – as good as we have now in the dressing room.
“I think the main event [that ended Arsenal’s title challenge] was when we went to Birmingham with the injury of Eduardo. It was a big shock and we conceded two points. Sometimes this can happen in a season when we were doing so well. After that I think we lost a bit of focus.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
