Compatriots disagree over club’s shirt-sleeve policy.
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Arsenal holding midfield player Mathieu Flamini has become embroiled in yet another row with the north London club’s hierarchy after opting to yet again cut the sleeves off his Gunners shirt, according to reports in the Daily Mirror.
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The Premier League leaders operate a strict club policy regarding their jerseys whereby whatever style the skipper opts for before the match – either long sleeves or short – then the rest of his team-mates must follow his lead by wearing the same.
And ahead of Arsenal’s crucial Uefa Champions League group-stage fixture with Ligue 1 outfit Olympique de Marseille at the Emirates on Tuesday night, club captain Per Mertesacker decided on wearing a long-sleeved shirt for the fixture, a choice that all of the Germany international’s team-mates also went with, apart from one that is.
Flamini, 29, wanted to go with short sleeves against Marseille and as such, the Frenchman opted to cut the sleeves off his shirt before kick-off, as the defensive midfield player had also chosen to do before the north Londoners’ recent 1-0 loss to Premier League champions Manchester United at Old Trafford.
On that occasion Flamini became involved in a heated exchange with long-serving Arsenal kit man Vic Akers, while this time his manager also took the player to task over his actions, with Arsene Wenger commenting after the match on the incident: “I do not like that and he will not do it again. I was surprised, and we don’t want that.”
However, Flamini was unrepentant, saying: “I’ve been playing at top level for 10 years, I like to wear short sleeves – that’s what I like to do.”
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