Mathieu Flamini has confirmed what neutral fans have long known of Arsene Wenger – that his youth development, although admirable in the extreme, is futile when it comes to developing Arsenal into one of the glamour clubs of Europe.

Flamini came to Arsenal from Marseille at the age of 20. At the time, he fell into the age group that was very much within periscope range of Wenger as he scoured the globe for youthful talent.

For three of his four years at Arsenal, Flamini played a relatively low-key bit part despite reaching the Champions League Final. For season 2007-2008, given the chance to shine, Flamini suddenly became a beacon to every scout for every big club in Europe.

'At the heart of the issue is pedigree. And pedigree is not just about amassing domestic glory'


Expecting him to sign on at Arsenal when the likes of AC Milan came knocking was naivete personified. In truth, any young player not playing for a major club will be attracted to the glamour of the big time when it comes.

And this is where, for Arsenal, reality bites. The rude awakening of the Mathieu Flamini saga is that Arsenal, for all their pretensions to being one of the biggest clubs in football, cannot compare to Spain’s Real Madrid or Italy’s AC Milan or even English Football’s very own Manchester United in terms of allure and glamour.

For all that Arsenal profess to be, a neutral would be hard pressed to be convinced that an A-grade top-notch footballer in the vein of a Zidane or Kaka or even a Ronaldinho at his prime would join Arsenal.

At the heart of the issue is pedigree. And pedigree is not just about amassing domestic glory. If that were the case, clubs like the Scottish duo Celtic, Rangers or even France’s Olympique Lyonnais would rank alongside AC Milan and Real Madrid in world football. And somehow, if a Celtic or Lyon came calling for Mathieu Flamini, I doubt he would have moved on.

Pedigree is about performing on the big stage with a swagger and an air of authority that makes an audience believe that you belong among the elite of the elite. It’s about being regal among the commoners. It’s about being superior even though you may not be champions.

A large part of that pedigree is about attracting and holding on to the very best players in the world, winning trophies with them and building a legend around them in the same way Manchester United did with Bobby Charlton and George Best and Dennis Law.

The same way Germany’s Bayern Munich did with Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, or Juventus did with Paolo Rossi and Michel Platini. And even if any of these clubs, like Real Madrid and Juventus, go into a spell of decline, you always knew they would bounce back by re-inventing their squads and attracting the best and the brightest to join them.

And so it has proved. AC Milan, in the doldrums during the early 1980s due to the Totonero Scandal, bounced back after attracting the Dutch trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard and subsequently dominated Italy and Europe to date.

Mathieu Flamini has proved that for all of Arsenal’s bravado and attempts to play attractive football, they just simply don’t have the swagger to stand up to the best of Europe. Past seasons in Europe have shown that although they are capable of pulling off the odd great result, they simply lack the aura of invincibility that coats the other A-list European clubs.

Past seasons in the English Premier League have also shown that although they can fly with the best, there is always that doubt in the minds of critics and commentators that they can stay the course.

A large part of the Arsenal issue has to rest with Arsene Wenger, the manager himself. Given the foundations in the early part of the millennium to start building a legendary team, he chose instead to abandon his best players and forsake their plea to buy better, and instead chose to develop youth.

Whereas a lot of this policy may be dictated by the club’s expensive move to Ashburton Grove, it must be viewed as a opportunity lost to see the likes of Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Thierry Henry, David Seamen and Dennis Bergkamp leave without adequate replacements.

For all that has become of the current squad of players like Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin Van Persie, the thought of playing alongside them will not attract the likes of Kaka, Iker Casillas or even Christiano Ronaldo to Arsenal.

Instead – as is indicated by Aleksandr Hleb wanting out of the Emirates - it is the Arsenal players themselves who are more likely to want to move to AC Milan, Real Madrid or even Manchester United.

The case of Flamini has really shown Wenger’s policy and Arsenal in general to be a feeder to Europe’s bigger clubs. Arsenal have taken relatively unknown players, developed them and just as they reach fruition, they will be snapped up or, as in the case of Flamini, simply just not sign on and go on a free transfer.

Surely if, as rumored, Pep Guardiola becomes manager of Barcelona, Fabregas, who worships the former Catalan great, is going to Barcelona and will be their captain - if not next season, then the one after that. Surely with the dearth of young quality strikers across England and Europe, all eyes are being cast in the direction of the relatively youthful but battle-proven 24-year old pair of Adebayor and Van Persie

Arsene Wenger’s youth policy is dependent on one thing – loyalty. If Arsenal are ever to achieve anything other than being a second rate club among Europe’s elite, surely Arsene Wenger has to remember this season and the one name that will define it and possibly his entire philosophy - Mathieu Flamini.