Morning all, it’s a very quiet Monday morning, which is perhaps just what we need. Some time for quiet contemplation of the weekend’s events, a little reflection. Or it could just be that there’s nothing much to talk about.

One of the most consistent performers this season has been Mathieu Flamini (NDPFFS) and the boss has spoken about his contract situation, saying:

I am hopeful on it. I am not concerned. Mathieu is free to talk, but the talks [with Arsenal] are ongoing.

Gunnerblog draws parallels with the Edu situation and while that’s true to an extent there was never a period when Edu had been out of the side and spoken about leaving the club. Flamini found himself frozen out of the team last season when he expressed his desire to play only in midfield. There was talk of him buying out his contract in the summer but that didn’t happen and he was told by the manager he’d be given his chance this season.

Funnily enough it was a performance at right-back that stood out early in the season, I can’t remember who it was against now, but he’s played so well this season that first Gilberto and then Diarra have found it impossible to get past him and into the side. I read an interview with Hleb in the Arsenal magazine last week and he talks about how himself, Cesc and Flamini are great friends off the pitch so hopefully that will have an influence on what happens. He’s still only 23 years old, he’s got the kind of character and playing style that every team needs, he’s well liked by his teammates and the Arsenal fans so hopefully he won’t be drawn into the thinking the grass (and the cash) is greener elsewhere. Come on Mathieu, sign that ND, P.

Arsene has also spoken about the Birmingham game, saying:

We were caught in the feeling, during the game, that it would be easy and that is a good lesson for us. That was the poorest game we have played.

While Gael Clichy said:

The boss told us from half-time to be ready from the first minute of the second half. We did not listen to him and now we have dropped two points.

You don’t normally hear football managers at the top of the pile being so candid about where their team went wrong, and to acknowledge his players thought it would be easy must hurt his pride. Arsene’s management style is not based on shouting and roaring and it’s unlikely that the players got the ‘hairdryer’ they would have if someone like Demento was in charge. However, I’m quite sure he’s made them all feel like they’ve let him, themselves and the fans down and that’s what will spark the reaction against Fulham on Saturday. If we don’t see a big improvement in the performance then we can start getting a little bit worried.

What kind of dipshit is David Bentley? He said being at Arsenal made him think about quitting the game, whereas being at Blackburn has rekindled his love for football. I think that says a lot more about David Bentley than it does about Arsenal. Twat.

And there you go. Told it was a quiet one, eh?