International week normally affords some reflection and wish to see players return unscathed. That still stands of course but looking at the number of other Mancunian clubs, whose key players have suddenly developed mysterious leg injuries, I kind of wish that Arsene would pull a flanker every now and then.

Reflecting on the defeat at Stamford Bridge, Arsene is clear where the problem lies,

We played quite well and were in control of the game. What was left to Chelsea was to play long balls, and we did not deal with that well enough

The substitutions undoubtedly had an impact on the game but the centre of the defence was not cohesive for either goal that Chelsea scored. Problematically for Arsene, it is not a new issue for him to deal with. Since his return, Kolo Toure has not been as solid as he was before the African Cup of Nations. Tuncay caught him out with a run as Aliadiere did with Gallas for Middlesbrough’s goal at The Emirates last week and they were both found wanting by Didier Drogba. With a lack of cover from the centre of midfield for the first goal, it exposed their frailties.

Both ‘Boro and Chelsea scored from long passes into dangerous areas which with the flight of the ball and the time it was in the air, suggests that the problem is one of concentration. Short of giving Gallas and Toure a DS Lite with Brain Training, it is hard to see what the solution is because it is a matter of application rather than being purely down to ability.

Arsene suggested that the squad remains united,

I feel the spirit in the team is fantastic…I do not believe that we had any confidence problem today

That is probably quite true but as an outsider, I would have to suggest otherwise. Five Premier League games without a win, the defeat on Sunday making their title aspirations very dim indeed, are bound to affect confidence. In their regular communications with the media, the squad all echo Arsene’s sentiments but regular underperformance will have a negative effect.

The support in the stadium is lifting to them but they are in a rut; it is something that they need to sort out quickly because failure to do so would see their efforts this season go unrewarded. We may believe that they deserve to win something but that is not enough; football’s history is littered with teams whose efforts merited more silverware than they won.

Mathieu Flamini spoke of the ongoing contract negotiations at the press conference ahead of France’s Euro2008 warm-up with England. He re-affirmed his desire to stay at the club and backed up recent comments from the manager and Keith Edelman that the two parties were talking and things were going well in that respect. Arsene backed that up by hoping that deal would be sorted in April.

Ordinarily, I would have expected gnashing of fingernails or venting of annoyance that the player for not signing the deal, ‘greedy’ being the usual adjective that is applied when these situations arise. This time though, criticism of the Frenchman has been muted simply because there is a realisation that whilst he has not been badly treated by Arsene, it is only this season that his worth has probably been proven to him. For him to commit quickly to a new deal for half of a decade is naïve, especially as it comes less than a year after threatening to use the FIFA Regulations to buy-out his current deal due to lack of action.

Speculation links us with every Tomas, Ricardo and Harald who is under the age of twenty-one or as in The Observer on Sunday, that Team Flamini calculate that it will cost Arsenal up to £20m to replace him hence they are looking for a £75k per week deal because the speculator’s math adds up that way. It would be nice though if the timescale mentioned were to be correct to save us from a summer of ill-informed speculation.

On the subject of contracts that run down, Jens Lehmann has been talking of his future post the European Championships. Speaking at the press conference ahead of Germany’s friendly, he said,

I don’t know what I will do after the summer…It depends on whether I get a good offer. If I do, I might play on another two years and if not, I probably might retire. There is also the belief that I can still win something here and be part of it

This would prove to be a decent short-term solution for Arsene but perhaps not for Lehmann. Were the German to remain at the club, it presents the opportunity for Fabianski to gain more experience through either the Carling Cup or perhaps even a loan deal whilst having experienced cover in much the same way that United have dealt with Ben Foster’s injury interrupted development.

Of course, it would not be Jens if there were not a slight dig involved,

It is very difficult particularly when I see the performances on the pitch

Who knows, it might not have been a dig at Almunia but a hint to Arsene that the solution to his current central defensive problem is not that far from his sight…

‘til Tomorrow.

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