Mathieu Flamini has revealed why he decided to leave Milan for former club Arsenal during the summer.

The 29-year-old moved back to London on a Bosman free transfer after talks regarding a renewal collapsed.

“I was a free agent after my contract with Milan expired,” he told www.arsenal.com in an interview. “They offered me a two-year deal, but I was expecting three years.

Mathieu Flamini has revealed why he decided to leave Milan for former club Arsenal during the summer.

The 29-year-old moved back to London on a Bosman free transfer after talks regarding a renewal collapsed.

“I was a free agent after my contract with Milan expired,” he told www.arsenal.com in an interview. “They offered me a two-year deal, but I was expecting three years.

“I’m 29 years old now and have some really good years in front of me, so I decided to leave Milan and I just came back to Arsenal at first to work on my fitness.

“I worked really hard for a month with our fitness Coach Tony Colbert, and then I ended up signing again and coming home to Arsenal.”

Flamini, who spent five years with the Diavolo, added that he was on the radar of a number of outfits in Europe.

“I had the possibility of other clubs in Italy, in England, in Germany even,” he added. “But for me it was the chance to come back to Arsenal, with the team we have right now, to work with Arsène Wenger again.”

The Frenchman played less than 100 Serie A games during his spell on the peninsula, but he has no regrets.

“I had the opportunity to go over there and play with legends. I played with Paolo Maldini, with Kaka, with Ronaldinho and even David Beckham over there. I had the chance to learn a lot.

“The mentality and the approach to football over there is completely different. The game is completely different too.

“Tactically, you have to be very strong. You have to learn a lot, you have to know exactly how to move on the pitch.

“The Italian League is not that easy because you do not have a lot of space. So of course over there I learned a lot.

“I won a Scudetto and I had some really positive years over there.”

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