Flamini wins Wenger seal of approval

Mathieu Flamini may be seen as a ready-made replacement for Patrick Vieira, but Arsene Wenger hopes the pair will battle it out for a place in the Arsenal midfield next season.

The France World Cup winner is staying silent on a move to Real Madrid and the Spaniards are reportedly ready to launch a renewed £18m (€27.3m) bid later this week.

Wenger admits the Gunners do not need to sell the 28-year-old.

Vieira was not involved in the Amsterdam Tournament this weekend, a thigh injury keeping him on the sidelines as Arsenal drew a blank in goalless draws against both Ajax and River Plate.

Flamini, though, chalked up his debut appearance in an Arsenal shirt against the hosts last night, and the 20-year-old former Marseille midfielder left an impression on his new manager.

“For a first game, he did quite well,” reflected Wenger on the club’s official website, www.arsenalfc.com.

“He is a good ball-winner who can put his foot in, but when he does get the ball he makes it very simple.

“It was an encouraging game for him especially as he had not played for seven weeks.”

Wenger added: “He will fight for a place. We have Flamini, Gilberto, Edu and Vieira in this position.

“You need to have four there if you are going to have a long season – and we hope we are going to have a long season.”

However, whether the Arsenal manager gets his wish and sees Vieira lead the Gunners by example once again next season remains to be seen.

The rest of the squad, though, are keen for their skipper to remain at Highbury.

“It’s his decision and we’ll have to see,” Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp said in the London Evening Standard.

“I respect him for that. We, as players, have been telling him to stay. No-one wants to see him go.

“He is training. It does not help him saying nothing, but neither do all the stories. It is up to him.”

Bergkamp added: “I don’t know if he will stay or go, but I bet he is still talking to our board.

“When Patrick does not want anyone to know something, then he can hide it. That is what he is doing.”

It has not been an easy pre-season build-up for the Arsenal manager, with Thierry Henry and Sol Campbell also unable to take part in competitive action with Achilles problems.

England defender Campbell faces around six weeks out, but Wenger is hopeful Henry will feature for the champions in their Barclays Premiership opener at Everton on August 14.

Arsenal are, though, unhappy that Campbell’s injury was not picked up while away on international duty this summer and could seek compensation from the Football Association.

Marseille have, meanwhile, ruled out an imminent attempt to sign former Gunners’ striker Sylvain Wiltord.

The 30-year-old, released over the close-season, is currently training with the Rennes youth team to keep up his fitness, while he considers his future options and is thought to have received an offer from German champions Werder Bremen.