The Frenchman said after the game: “It was a farewell and I wanted him to have a chance to say goodbye to the fans, that we respect him for what he has done for us. Jens was 100 per cent professional, if not always an easy character. In all his time here, I have not known Jens to not be fully committed for a single minute. That deserves a lot of respect.

“He was the best keeper in the Premier League. He reads the game well, he is brave and had all the assets to come into the Premier League, because he is not frightened of anybody. Jens has become better and better, because at the start he was a bit upset easily sometimes, when people walked on his toes at corners. But he got more controlled through his career. Jens was 38 this year, and at some stage in a club like ours you have to make a decision to change.”

Lehmann has made 199 appearances for the Gunners since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2003.

Photo: Gety Images

The 24-year-old is expected to undergo a medical at the San Siro on Monday. Despite the offer of a new five-year deal from Arsenal, Flamini’s future remains unresolved and both AC Milan and Juventus are reported to have been tracking the France international.

Following Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday, the Gunners’ last home game of the season, Wenger conceded that he was not “super-confident” Flamini would still be with the club next season.

“Frankly, I don’t know [if he is staying],” said Wenger. “But if you ask me was I overall super-confident, I would say no. He has an offer on the table which is valid until tomorrow [Monday], then we will see. We have done what we had to do, it is now down to him to make a decision. My ideal solution is that he stays, so I am not happy if he goes – but we’ve done everything we can. We can’t wait until July. You could lose players if they come on the market.”

Meanwhile, Milan club owner Silvio Berlusconi has cast fresh doubt over the potential signing of Barcelona star Ronaldinho.

“I have always been doubtful over whether Ronaldinho is needed, at this point I really think we don’t need him,” he said.

The Italian club has agreed terms with the 28-year-old Brazilian playmaker but failed to settle on a mutually satisfactory transfer fee with Barcelona during preliminary talks.

If I were a sports betting man, I wouldn’t bet on Ronaldinho coming to Milan.

Photo: Getty Images

“Nothing is impossible,” said Fabregas. “We have to win the last two games and then we’ll see. We are not the favourites, but you never know.”

Derby were well in contention in the first period but Arsenal ran away with it after half-time, with substitute Emmanuel Adebayor grabbing a hat-trick.

“They started very strong and put us under a lot of pressure,” said Fabregas. “After we made it 3-1 we relaxed a bit but they made it 3-2 and we knew we had to push. But fortunately we responded straight away and Theo (Walcott) scored a great goal.”

The midfielder also paid tribute to Adebayor, adding: “He makes a difference every time he plays, he’s a striker who can do everything. We should feel fortunate to have him.”

Photo: Getty Images

“It is a nice compliment,” he said. “But, for the moment, there is nothing. Who are we going to sign? It has not been decided yet. I have a list where there is a number one, a number two, a number three and a number four for each position we want to strengthen. We have money, just not as much as the papers say because that is not true.”

Photo: Getty Images

“We will continue to play the way we do but better, the trophies will come,” he said. “The main target is to keep the team together. They are absolutely amazing.”

Striker Emmanuel Adebayor is behind his Manager as he says that the Gunners will come out fighting next season. Adebayor, who has now scored 20 goals for Arsenal, said “Arsene is a great man and a great manager. He has achieved a lot of things with this club. For sure he is going to be here. He has a vision to bring a lot of good players to this club like Alex Hleb, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Cesc Fabregas and William Gallas. They are his players. So, for sure, we will win something, no doubt about that.”

Arsenal are now nine points behind leaders Manchester United and three points behind Chelsea, having played a game more than Chelsea, and with just four fixtures remaining. A disappointed Wenger hinted that certain decisions which went against Arsenal at Old Trafford highlighted a recent trend, but was keen to stress the pride he felt in a team which were controversially knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool in midweek.

Overall, I am very proud of my team’s performance,” he said. “We had to be exceptionally strong after the Liverpool game – and we were. I feel the difference between success and failure is very little. We do not feel there is much between ourselves, United and Chelsea when it comes to technical ability and quality. So it is difficult to accept we will not win the title. I want to win trophies and it is sad we cannot win a trophy this season. On the other hand, I feel we have done a lot for the Premier League this season by the way we have promoted it.”

Arsenal needed to win at Old Trafford to start clawing back the Premier League leader’s six-point advantage but a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty cancelled out Adebayor’s opener before Owen Hargreaves grabbed the winner to effectively end Arsenal’s hopes. Hargreaves’ free-kick came after Gilberto had been punished for a challenge on Patrice Evra while Ronaldo’s penalty was awarded following a handball by William Gallas.

“Those two decisions made it difficult for us but overall we have to take it,” Wenger said. “With the penalty you can give it or not give it. As for the free-kick I do not think Gilberto touched Evra.”

Photo: Getty Images

This weekend Arsenal faced Liverpool for the third time this season and the game resulted in a 1-1 draw, also for the third time this season, leaving Arsenal in the third place six points behind the leaders Manchester United and eight points clear of Liverpool, who are currently fourth in the table. If it results in the same 1-1 draw at Anfield for the Champions League quarter-final then the game heads to a tie-breaker. Most importantly Liverpool scored away from home on the first-leg, so they have an advantage. Therefore Arsenal now have to score at some point of the game to stay in the competition.

When Rafael Benitez was asked if the game would be different from the last three this season he replied, “Yes, I think so, for two reasons – one is that we are playing at Anfield and that is a massive difference, and the other thing is that they [Arsenal] need to win, so it could be an attacking game. We need to win also … we don’t want a 0-0 draw. We prefer to score and we prefer to win. We know that Arsenal can score away from home.”

Liverpool face a dilemma of injuries as Centre-Back Daniel Agger is out with a long term foot injury, wingers Harry Kewell having a groin injury and Jermaine Pennant having a hamstring problem. Benitez admitted that he has a big decision to make on which striker to play up front with Peter Crouch in splendid form. He also admitted that he wants to play Spaniard Fernando Torres supported by Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard with flexible attacking roles.

Arsene Wenger on the other hand does not want to underestimate his opponent and wants to expect the unexpected. He said “A surprise can always happen, even if you know each other very well,” he said. “I believe it will be different this time because, at the end of the game, there will be a sanction – we want to stay in this competition but one of us has to move out. So there is more urgency in this game and less observation.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger failed to hold down his nerves more than usual this season but he thinks his team can cope with the noisy atmosphere of Anfield and keep their cool when needed. He said “They [Liverpool] have the support for them but it’s down to us to keep the crowd quiet, though I accept that’s difficult because here they are a bit louder than anywhere else and, especially, they have more stamina than anywhere else. At the end of the day, it will still be down to how well we play on the pitch.”

There is good news in the Arsenal camp as striker Robin Van Persie is back in their squad, although he limped off the field with a thigh strain last week and missed the subsequent premier league fixture. The injuries for Arsenal include Eduardo Da Silva, Tomas Rosicky, Johan Djourou, Alexandre Song and Bacary Sagna.

Photo: Getty Images