Relic or revolutionary? Flamini hails Arsenal boss Wenger

Title showdown with Chelsea will be manager's 1,000th game in charge

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(Image credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)

NO PLAYER in the current Arsenal dressing room is as well placed to pass judgment on Arsene Wenger's reign as manager as Mathieu Flamini. The 30-year-old midfielder rejoined the Gunners last summer nine years after arriving for his first stint in north London. In all that time Flamini has made 182 appearances for Arsenal, an impressive number but a long way short of the 999 matches that Wenger has overseen since his appointment at the start of the 1996-97 season.

Wenger celebrates his 1000th game in charge on Saturday when Arsenal travel across London to Chelsea, and win or lose Flamini says it will be a landmark to remember for the club: "It's an unbelievable achievement," said the Frenchman. "He means so much to the club for the achievements he has done until now. Congratulations to him, first of all."

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Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.