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So this week has seen the departure of Alex Song. In some corners this has come as a surprise, and to others, it was the inevitable waiting to happen. I recently met Alex on holiday in Vegas. Like a kid in a candy store I was, excited to see one of our players who gets my support week in week out. So we spoke for a few minutes discussing how our holidays where going and moments from last season. As I walked away saying, I very foolishly said “I’ll see you back at the Emirates, good luck in pre season”. Boy where my choice of words so wrong!
With Song no longer a Gooner, how will he be remembered? The creative defensive midfielder? The ill disciplined defensive midfielder? I think Song perfectly can be perfectly defined as the oxymoron of a defensive midfielder, and it is for this reason, he will not be missed from the heart of Arsenals midfield. For years, the heart of the Arsenal midfield has thrived on having a bullish, industrious, working midfield that was the engine room for the fluidity in our style of play.
From the days of Petit & Vieira through to Gilberto &Vieira, it is no coincidence that the recent trophy drought has come due to the lack of inadequate defensive qualities we have possessed in central midfield. The number of times our midfield has been penetrated on the counter attacks through the heart of our midfield has finally got the church bells ringing in Arsene’s ears. For all of Song’s offensive qualities, his lack of defensive responsibility and leadership to show some grit is far to compromising for a team with a much susceptible defence.
Make no mistake about it, credit where it’s due, Song has already surpassed his own expectations to his own playing level. For a player starting at Bastia, to a loan spell at Charlton, to that shambolic performance against Fulham where he was substituted at half time, to the defensive midfielder with a double tally of assists, and now finding himself at Barcelona, I truly believe Song, at such a young age, has placed his career at an unnecessary cross road.
Will he displace Busquets in the defensive midfield position? No. Does he offer more defensive cover then Mascherano? No. Are Song’s offensive qualities really needed at a club averaging around 3 goals a game? No. So it begs the question, what awaits Mr. Song at Barcelona? A squad player, a versatile player is what Song will offer Barcelona, but like many before him, he will find this status will always make him a player that Barcelona can afford to not have in a couple of seasons time.
Will constant bad time keeping to training, as reported, be taken more leniently at Barcelona then it was at Arsenal? Will positional relapses cost him he’s place in the team, something which was well over looked at Arsenal? Will he result in the same fate as Hleb? Will he become another journeyman through Europe? So many questions will need to be answered to justify Song being a Barcelona player, and shifting his game to the next level will have to be a do or die.
One thing is for sure, Song will win titles at Barcelona, and regardless of whether he starts games or is benched, it may just overshadow whether Alex was able to make the grade at the worlds greatest ever team.
Written by Amit Klaire
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totally disagree. alex song has been one of the few consistantly high performers in an arsenal shirt for the last three years.
he was sold to make money NOT because of any laziness.
he had one of the highest tackle ratios in the league
he had one of the best assists in the league
but our money grabbing Directors would not pay him what he deserved (whilst overpaying the likes of Denilson and Vela)
we will miss Song more than Van Persie
Well said, LAWAFC. Song was massive for Arsenal, and young with a great future. His loss will hurt.
Song i wish u good luck ,for ur ariver to barca and quick adapting. UP BARCA
They said similar things about Alexis. It’s a long season, he’s young and versatile and will find his place. Good teams are built on quality at all positions, and Song provides that at several. This “analysis” barely touches on any of that, just a simple “no, no, no” doesn’t cover it when you consider how many games a team like Barca will play. His signing may speak more to how La Masia is light on defensive midfielders, especially after Oriol went to Chelsea and Martinez being too expensive.
I think you don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to tactics. In a 4-3-3 formation the DM has to be versatile and has to move forward in order to stop men from running into the 18. That’s why Chelsea suffers till this day without Michael Essien in midfield because he helped the midfield go forward, in the 4-3-3 formation that they play. The problem was that the other players had to rotate back to the place Song was standing, that’s why we did so well with Arteta in the side, because when Song went forward, as he’s supposed to do in this formation, Arteta went back and switched places with Song.
Thought I’d leave it to the end of the season to reply to these comments….Did Arsenal seriously miss Song so badly this season??? Errrm a big fat no! We had much better discipline with protecting the back four in the second half of the season and had the second best defensive record in the PL. Maybe hard to accept, but still strongly believe he was a massive liability in our midfield, left us too exposed and giving away needless freekicks away. And…..he’s voted as one of the worst signings of the season!!?? Will he become a journeyman?? Watch this space, thats all I say!