Football FanCast columnist Billy Pearson looks at the departure of Mathieu Flamini and wonders if Arsene Wenger found himself caught between a rock and a hard place back in January.

Arsene Wenger must look back to January 2008 with about as much fondness as you would on hearing news of a dead relative. A combination of wrong decisions, broken promises and player power has constituted in a downturn of fortunes and surrender our hope of honours this season and has left some sections of the Arsenal faithful questioning the wisdom of the ‘professor'.

I don't think there is anyone more annoyed than Arsene Wenger that he didn't splash out in January. Sitting top of the League and comfortable in all other competitions, you could possibly see why Wenger felt reluctant to spend. Maybe he should have foreseen that we were going to suffer an injury crisis that tore our season apart but as they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

There is clearly one moment in January that must really wrangle with Wenger and no doubt it will be something that will come out in the weeks ahead. The Frenchman came out in the newspapers yesterday and claimed he felt a little let down and disappointed by Mathieu Flamini in light of his move to AC Milan. Wenger clearly thought that he was going to stay, which forced his hand to offload the unhappy Diarra to Portsmouth. It was a calculated risk by Wenger, given that Flamini was in the final year of his contract, but you kind of feel that Arsene must have had some assurances and it has really backfired on him.

Lassana Diarra is an excellent footballer and was undoubtedly brought in to fulfil the holding role in midfield. The problem Wenger had was the upturn of form of Flamini who along with Fabregas were setting the Premier League alight, what was the manager to do? It seems like Arsene was caught between a rock and a hard place as the player was showing remarkable form and keeping them at the top of the table while refusing to sign a new deal - imagine the uproar that would have taken place had Wenger dropped Flamini and brought in Diarra and the club suffered as a result.

I think the problem with Arsene Wenger is that he has always been a man of his word and the epitome of loyalty. When you are of that persona, you feel that other people share your own values and it's clear that on this particular occasion that Wenger was let down by Flamini. You really do wonder if the player had any intention of staying and what may have been said in January to assure Arsene, and force his hand to let Diarra leave.

Who should be brought in to replace Flamini? Is it time for Diaby to step up? Would you rather see Wenger bring in a Gareth Barry or a Michael Johnson?