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Arsenal form forced Flamini to leave Gunners

11/05/2008

Mathieu Flamini has explained Arsenal's loss of form after Christmas was one of the reasons he chose to leave the club and join AC Milan.

The Frenchman also said the Italian club's desire to have him compared to the Gunners' made him feel comfortable with the switch.

Flamini became an integral part of the Arsenal midfield this season after a number of seasons as a fringe player.

Having played a right-back for much of last season, the 24-year-old joined forces with Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park this year.

Their success saw the Gunners move to the top of the table but a run of four draws and a loss to Chelsea meant their title bid began to fade by the end of March.

Speaking in the News of the World, Flamini said that winning the title would have influenced his decision to stay if Arsenal could have kept their lead at the top of the Premier League.

He said: "That would have weighed in the balance. It would certainly have counted.

"What happened to us after leading the league for so long was the most painful experience I had during four years at Arsenal."

Flamini says he wanted a new contract from Arsenal at the end of last season but the club were happy for him to enter the final year of his deal and then try and negotiate something when it expired.

"I actually wanted to sign a new contract at Arsenal last July but it didn't happen. AC Milan did so much to sign me I couldn't refuse," explained Flamini.

His final game for Arsenal will be against Sunderland today.