- Stop getting shirty! Said Vic Akers in the dressing room - Arsenal must always retain their tradition... but forcing Flamini to wear long sleeves is just ridiculous; Said Vic Akers (The dressing Man)
Chat212 Sportsmail's Report...
So Arsenal kit man Vic Akers in the dressing room gets all shirty with Mathieu Flamini because the midfielder snips off his sleeves and, thereby, breaks the unwritten rule of Follow My Captain.
- But there was dressing room drama as Flamini drew a razor sharp Katana from his locker and told the Arsenal boss he’d rather live an armless life than wear long sleeves.
- The midfielder had to be talked out of it by Per Mertesacker who reminded him it would make it very difficult for him to blind opponents if he didn’t have any arms.
Short shrift - Flamini was differed after cutting his shirt off with razor
one out in Arsenal line-up before the game on Tuesday night
The Gunners edged closer to the last 16 of the competition thanks to two goals from Jack Wilshere, but Wenger was still left angered by the behaviour of Flamini.
The former AC Milan player, as he has done for previous Arsenal games, used a pair of scissors to shorten his long-sleeved shirt into a short-sleeved version.
In doing so, Flamini went against the North London club’s tradition of the whole team wearing the same type of shirt selected by the captain before kick-off.
The midfielder had been involved in a row with Gunners kitman Vic Akers before and after his previous game against Manchester United earlier this month, and after Tuesday’s match Wenger made clear his feelings on the subject.
Seriously? Whatever Arsene Wenger is for ‘you gotta be kidding’ then that is what Flamini must be thinking today.
Arsene Wenger in a press meeting said "I do not like that and he will not do that again," he said in the Guardian. "I was surprised he did that; we don't want that."
Flamini, though, suggested he will continue to defy his manager.
"I've been playing at the top level for 10 years," he said. "I like to wear short sleeves, that's what I like to do."
Olivier Giroud was also wearing short sleeves against Marseille, although he had rolled them up rather than cut them off.
