The 23-year-old is now in the slipstream of a clutch of young midfield talent being introduced to the first team by Wenger, such as Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby and Denilson.

And Flamini claims he could be approaching the end of his time at the Gunners.

“The next three years will be important for me,” he is quoted as saying in L’Equipe. “I want to play, to go to the next level.

“The Arsenal team is young, it has quality, but I am not playing as much at the moment. It isn’t easy to live like this, and I am in a situation where all players ask themselves questions.

“I am coming to the end of the cycle. I have just spent three years at Arsenal and my lawyer has told me that I could leave in June. For that, I must pay the final year’s salary to the club.”

Flamini’s stock rose earlier this season when he was drafted into the France squad by coach Raymond Domenech for the friendly against Argentina in February.

But he has hardly been selected by Arsenal since, and over the course of the season, he has usually only been named on the bench by Wenger.

His versatility came to Arsenal’s rescue last season when he played at left-back in the absence of the injured Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy.

He proved to be a key player for Wenger in the Champions League knockout stages, as the Gunners made it to the final.

However, he lost his place to Cole for the showpiece against Barcelona, who ended up winning 2-1.

Flamini has now set his sights on European glory, at Arsenal or another team.

“I want to continue to work, to progress,” he added.

“I want to score more goals, make more passes and win the Champions League.”