Flamini agrees to respect Arsenal tradition and stop slashing his shirt sleeves

Flamini agrees to respect Arsenal tradition and stop slashing his shirt sleeves

Arsenal believe Mathieu Flamini will abide by the club’s shirt-sleeve rule in future after Tuesday night’s furore.

The combative midfielder found himself at the centre of controversy for cutting the sleeves off his jersey — and in doing so flouted a directive Arsenal players have respected since the 1920s.

The match-day captain chooses the length of sleeves to be worn but Flamini rebelled before the Champions League game against Marseille game.

Frayed relations: Mathieu Flamini contravened Arsenal rules by cutting his shirt off at the elbow

Previous: Flamini cut off his sleeves against Manchester United earlier this season

Short shrift: Flamini is the odd one out in Arsenal's line-up before their game with Marseille on Tuesday night

He had done the same in his previous game, the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United earlier this month, a decision that sparked a confrontation between Flamini and kit manager Vic Akers.

Speaking after the 2-0 win over Marseille, manager Arsene Wenger claimed Flamini would not be allowed to take scissors to his shirt again, but the former AC Milan man was defiant. He said: ‘I’ve been playing at the top level for 10 years and I like to wear short sleeves.’

Sportsmail understands the majority of the Arsenal squad back Wenger’s stance. Arsenal consider Flamini’s sleeve-cutting to be an oversight rather than a challenge to the club. And there is a belief the issue has been resolved after the rule was explained to Flamini.

Foot down: Arsene Wenger (left) has told Flamini (right) he will not be allowed to cut off his shirt sleeves again

Mathieu Flamini: Competition is driving Arsenal success

One solution could be for Flamini to roll up his sleeves, something team-mates including Theo  Walcott and Olivier Giroud have done in the past. In fact, former Arsenal player Brian Talbot sought permission from the board to roll up his sleeves in the Eighties, such was his desire to toe the line.

The sleeve edict was defended by former Arsenal and England right back Lee Dixon yesterday. ‘I liked to wear short sleeves too,’ he said. ‘But I wore the same as the captain. Club tradition must remain at all costs. Rodders (Tony Adams) used to ask the players to vote. If it was long then I rolled them up.’

Solution: Olivier Giroud (left) and Theo Walcot have taken to rolling up their shirt sleeves on occasion

The Remembrance Day poppy shirts worn for the defeat at Old Trafford are being auctioned online to raise money for the Royal British Legion. The bidding for Flamini’s shirt had reached £2,000 last night.

The north London club have other long-established rules. For example, flowers in the opposition’s colours are displayed in the directors’ box on match days. Such is the attention to detail that when Newcastle visit, petals are coloured in black to represent the Tyne- siders’ famous strip.

Record signing Mesut Ozil seems to have adapted quickly to the Arsenal style but Tuesday’s win over Marseille was notable for  a shocking penalty miss by the  German, whose tame shot was  easily pushed away. 

Lame effort: Mesut Ozil was guilty of a poor penalty in the Champions League game against Marseille

German engineering: Per Mertesacker (centre) insists Ozil (right) will not struggle with his £42.5m price tag

Arsene Wenger delight after Wilshere masterclass

Gunners centre back Per Mertesacker insisted, though, that a £42.5million price tag was not an issue for his fellow German. ‘We’re delighted with him, especially the transition from defence to attack,’ said Mertesacker.

‘He can play the ball, he’s the one who goes deep. I think we will see more. Sometimes he looks like his head is going down but against Marseille we said we don’t care (that he missed a penalty), we’ll just get on and that’s what he did. He’s a threat.’

Arsenal are being kept updated on the availability of Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, 21, who may go out on loan in January. They are also watching Schalke  midfielder Max Meyer, 18.

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