Flamini’s Arsenal future to be resolved in next 48 hours

MATHIEU FLAMINI’S Arsenal future will be resolved in the next 48 hours.

The 24-year-old French midfielder, who is set to return to the squad for tomorrow’s game against Everton following an ankle injury, is understood to have been offered a new long-term deal worth an estimated £55,000-a-week (€70,000).

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger had set the end of April as the deadline for the out-of-contract midfielder to decide his future.

However ‘‘negotiation problems’’ have held up the process. Now Wenger expects a resolution by Monday.

“It will be sorted out over the weekend,’’ Wenger said yesterday. ‘‘Will he stay or not? That is down to him but the deadline is Sunday, Monday latest.

‘‘The deadline moved for negotiation problems. Only he could tell you (whether he will go or not). For me yes he stays, but does he tell me the complete truth, I don’t know.

‘‘Ideally I want him to stay, but he’s free. That means if you get £2million (€2.5m) here, £4m (€5.1m) somewhere else, you can go to the one who gives you four, or you can as well stay to the one who gives you two.

“He is free to make a decision and you have to accept the market. You listen to everybody in Europe and take some time, that’s why the situation has lasted a little bit.”

Flamini has been superb for Arsenal this season but, although Wenger wants him to stay, the manager is confident that his side would cope if he did decide to go.

“(If he goes) we will find a solution, don’t worry,” said the 58-year-old.

“Everybody has his own rules on that — and we are not naive enough to feel that it is not linked with money, because he says he wants to stay, and if he goes somewhere else that means he’s linked with what?”

The Gunners boss added that he did not feel West Ham manager Alan Curbishley would be so “disrespectful” as have his Hammers side lie down at Manchester United in today’s clash.

Chelsea have been left less than impressed by recent comments in a newspaper column from the Hammers boss, who felt it would be an ‘‘injustice’’ if United did not go on and win the championship.

Wenger has no doubts Curbishley will take West Ham to Manchester looking for another famous victory.

“What you expect from Alan Curbishley is that he is entitled to have his opinion,” said Wenger, “but Alan Curbishley has been in football for a long time and if he goes up there, nobody would forgive him not to give absolutely everything with his team to make a result.

“I know Alan Curbishley and he has pride — to lie down in front of Manchester United would be disrespectful.

“I have enough confidence in him that he will try to win the game. I think that is one of the strong points I respect in him.”

At one stage it looked as if Wenger’s men were on course for the title, only for their challenge to fall apart over the past two months.

While the Arsenal manager accepted the championship was now United’s to lose, he maintained his team had given them a run for their money this year.

“I personally believe we were the best team in the league and we have some weaknesses,” Wenger insisted.

“We paid for that, we had as well some bad luck, but we lost only three games and it has been very close.

“It is a very tight championship, with one or two decisions from the referee as to whether we lost or won.

“If we won at Man United, which we could have done, we would be champions. You cannot say just these two have been good and the rest are rubbish.

On the likely destination of the title Wenger added: “Chelsea have a disadvantage because it depends on the result of Manchester United.

“I think Manchester United will win the title and they will be worthy winners.’’

Wenger also insisted it would not be “morally right” for Arsenal to break the club’s strict wage structure, risk “going bust” and live outside their “natural resources” like Chelsea.

Yet Wenger insists Arsenal — saddled with a £300m (384m) long-term mortgage debt following the move to 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium — will remain faithful to their policy of not breaking the bank and risking everything by spending more than they can afford.

“We have £360m (€460m) debt and we have to respect the wages structure or we will go bust, it is as simple as that,” Wenger said.

“I just feel we are not Chelsea, first of all. We have no [Roman] Abramovich.

“When we have paid our debt back we work with higher resources. At the moment we work with what we have.”