Song’s Departure Can be a Positive Move by Wenger
Alex Song is gone. He completed his medical this morning and looks all set to be introduced today. It has been said that the move was sanctioned because of demands for a new contract that fell apart early in the year and because as one outlet calls it, Song was lazy, habitually late for training, driving the coaches to distraction and lacked defensive discipline.
The piece that follows is taken from a piece written by a good friend of mine Walid (@1Walid1 on twitter) and reading it again it made sense even today. Walid has let me reproduce it here and it explains why selling Alex Song should be seen as positive move for Arsenal.
Song started his career off as a centre back but his early performances for the Gunners were a cause for concern. In comparison to defenders in his age group, the Cameroon international struggled to read the game and his decision making was often speculative. This prompted the club to loan the player to Charlton for a season as Arsenal looked to boost his development.
In the mean time, the Gunners suffered defensive frailties following former midfielder Mathieu Flamini’s exit to AC Milan. Flamini’s final season at the Emirates was very impressive. The young midfielder operated well with Fabregas during the 2007-2008 season as Arsenal lost out on the league title by only 2 points.
Flamini’s stamina, speed and combative nature were key to Arsenal’s impressive season and the Frenchman would consistently cover approximately 13 to 14 km per game – almost 3km higher than the average for footballers during a 90 minute game.
Losing Flamini along with Diarra and Gilberto was a big blow for Arsenal. Denilson and Diaby’s poor performances eventually prompted Wenger to transform Alex Song into a defensive midfielder.
So how much responsibility was the young Song about to take on? It is widely believed that the benchmark for any defensive midfielder is former Chelsea midfielder Claude Makalele. The Frenchman excelled so well in the holding midfield role that many experts have since referred to the position as “The Makalele Role”.
Makalele was disciplined in his positional play and provided excellent cover for the back four as Mourinho deployed the former Real Madrid in his favoured 4-3-3 formation.
There is however a significant difference in the way Makalele and Song operate in that role. The analysis below from, Guardian Football Chalkboards, show the passes played by the two players during their respective games and provide an indication as to how the players carry out their duties.
While many of Makalele’s passes appear inside the Chelsea half, Song has a more adventurous role. Statistically, in the midfield along with Ramsey and Arteta, Alex Song was the most advanced of the trio against Bolton early last season.
When Flamini left for AC Milan, Wenger changed his formation from a 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 with Song and Wilshere taking up a deep role. The Arsenal manager claimed the new formation would allow Cesc Fabregas (at the time) a more advanced attacking role while the midfield was marshalled by Wilshere and Song.
The two deep players however are not limited to a rigid formation. Wenger likes to allow his players freedom of movement but there have been several occasions in recent seasons when the management from the touchline had to instruct Song to maintain discipline and limit his attacking runs to avoid forcing the more creative players like Arteta and Wilshere to cover.
Maintaining discipline and efficiency is key in the holding role and an excellent example of this is Darren Fletcher. While the Scottish midfielder is not the most gifted on the ball he is efficient in shielding the back four and in breaking the opposition attacks. With Fletcher’s hard working nature in the Manchester United ranks, Ferguson has the luxury of varying the system between playing Rooney and Hernandez or Berbatov up front or switching to playing one striker and three in midfield with Anderson, Carrick and Fletcher.
Song does not posses the consistent hard working nature of Fletcher and over time, Wenger perhaps identified the former Bastia player’s lack of agility and speed as one of the reasons to play with two deeper midfielders. However, with Fabregas now plying his trade in Barcelona and now joined by Song, perhaps Wenger may consider reverting back to playing with two strikers.
If Arsenal can replace the Cameroonian with a more agile defensive midfielder, there may be an opportunity for Wenger to get the best out of many of his attackers.
The Gunners have plenty of scoring options in Walcott, Podolski, Giroud, Cazorla, and Gervinho. If Wenger invests in buying a holding midfielder like Capoue or M’Vila or of the same mold as Gokhan Inler, the Gunners boss can certainly have the luxury of variation in the way the team plays.
Giroud, Podolski, and Chamakh, as central strikers combined with Gervinho and Walcott on the wings would provide plenty of attacking power for the North London side, while Cazorla, Wilshere or Ramsey can operate as a Centre Midfielder alongside a holding player in the middle. Wenger may also have the option to vary his frontline by playing Walcott up front in his natural position along with Giroud and simultaneously utilise the pace of Oxlade-Chamberlain in the wide role.
Naturally, against more tough opposition, there is a greater need for greater numbers in midfield and a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation will be welcome options for the manager.
The key is to have a side that can play in a variation of systems to beat the particular opponent. Part of that key is a more versatile defensive midfielder who can operate in multiple formations, with the departure of Alex Song that may now be possible.
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Great site.
In the grand scheme of things there is no reason to lament the ‘lose’ of Alex Song.
One of the reasons i like us under the regime of Mr Wenger is (as ugly to some as it maybe) the element of ‘business’ inherent.
Refusing to pay circa £100k a week (read it again) to someone who doesnt have the good grace to arrive on time for training is something i respect.
Buying rvp (berbatov) for 2.75m ish (correct me if im wrong) and selling him for a possible £24m (add ons etc -) in the midst of what everyone already is bored of here – is great. To see him on the bench losing at goodison was surreal yet highly enjoyable.
The gaul of mr wenger to sell to a team on the wane (albeit them) is again something i implore. Here is to hoping it doesnt haunt is on a champs league night next year.
This year like many here i imagine(sorry to those i havent had time to read yet) there is a real feeling of optism. Not the normal level of ‘this year’.
Fair to say there is change ‘behind the curtain’. If you view pure gross expenditure on new players at north of £50m (for 3 players as opposed to say 7 19 year olds) one must assume there is a long term plan and a change of direction.
The strongly worded letter from our friends (not on the board!) at Red and White Holdings was firmly filed under ‘read’. I hope.
Good luck to us this weekend in what for many of us is always one of the worst matches to watch in lieu of the not so distant past.
Will close with this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQmO3S2eLPE
everytime you hear alan hansen having a dig this year. Remeber the link.
‘waste of a journey coming up here’
Side note – believe the bbc havent renewed Lee Dixon’s contract?
cheers.
p.s. Steve Bould stepping up = Quietly best thing we have done in a long time.
p.p.santi carzola is the single best signing (price key in this) any manager has pulled off in many years. Thanks Malga and the euro zone crisis…
first, song is not a dm/holding midfielder. he’s a box-to-box guy. last year, arteta was the dm/holding player. remember the ’06-’07 season against fulham? wenger tried song at dm and he sucked and was sent on loan. remember after flamini left? song played about 2 games at dm and was replaced by denilson. just because song is a big, strong guy doesn’t mean he’s ideal to play the holding role. feel free to call song what you want but please know the difference between what a dm does and alex song.
i don’t know why song has been so poor at that position but i do know that to be a good dm requires more brain than brawn. typically, the best dm’s have never been these big, physically imposing guys. players like pirlo, deschamps, gilberto, rijkaard, makelele and alonso all had various obvious qualities besides what a dm does. one quality they all had was the ability to read the game and disrupt the opponents were trying to do in attack; key word being disrupt.
dm’s don’t always have to make a play, just prevent your opponents from making one. likewise, in possession, dm’s have to be very protective of the ball as an ill-advised pass to an open guy can lead to a goal before you know what hit you. the game where arsenal beat city last season is a perfect example. barry, in the corner, made an ill-advised forward pass to a seemingly open team mate (can’t remember that italian guy’s name). it was a trap that arteta set. mikel closed the guy down, dispossessed him, and before city could get reset, arteta smashed the ball past hart. dm is the hardest position on the pitch. you have to see everything all the time.
the biggest thing we’ll miss about song’s is the chemistry that he and arteta established last year. they complimented one another. i don’t like wenger’s statement that “we have cover for song”. cover is for a temporary condition. the season’s already started and he still doesn’t know his starting eleven. we’ll see how it works out.
sorry, but you guys know i get all preachy when we start talking about dm’s.
Well, I missed ALL the weekday football and things are only getting busier for me…. Returning to the real (virtual?) world, I see that we’re allowing Nuri Sahin to go norf to Alaska, er, Liverpool….
I have to say that I’m becoming of a mind that I will be at least somewhat (bitterly) disappointed if we don’t get our man from Rennes (Yann M’ Vila) at the close of the window.
Alex Song, while not quite the definition of “steel” (IMO) and not quite the definition of “defensive midfielder” had a batch of attributes that made him pretty (damn) important. Over time he became adept at presenting himself as an easy outlet and upon receiving the ball he moved it smartly, even finding mid-range targets with his better (right) foot. His biggest liability, ironically, was tracking back where his clumsiness and lack of anticipation (mental laziness?) allowed foul-minded players on the ball an easy chance to go down and earn free kicks or put him on a yellow.
Unlike RVP we have not replaced Song (ahead of the actual departure) and thus our negotiating position is weakened. Suggesting that Arteta, Wilshere and Diaby are a “replacement by committee” seems misguided in the extreme. IF Arteta can stay healthy he can function as a DM (Xabi Alonso style) but he needs a likeminded (quick thinking AND quick kicking) player back there with him and Diaby is not that guy (nor is Ramsey….Wilshere, as I recall, might be able to do it, but counting on him for significant if ANY contribution seems foolish). Given the injury (and inexperience) problems we’re seeing in the fullback positions, we especially need players (or A PLAYER) who can consistently provide outlet options and keep the ball moving.
So for me, all signs point to M’Vila. The ability was clear at the Euros where he moved the ball smartly almost without effort and without much actual running. Fitness and attitude seem problematic and it would be all the worse if we had to break the bank to land him. Unlike Sahin, however, he might not land as (or close to) our highest paid player–you know, the old guy who can hardly be arsed to warm up, let alone cover any ground during a match (Arshavin).
One week to go in the transfer window. Yes, Theo probably needs a new contract, as does Arteta, and this will represent an outlay of funds. Failure to rid ourselves of the likes of Bendtner, Chamakh, etc. also costs us money, week after week. Still, (even) I will be angry if these get trotted out as reasons for the window closing w/o a replacement signing.
Important match at Stoke coming up, but maybe I’ll comment on that in the thread that is sure to bury this one…..
“Over the last 3 off-seasons Wenger has (re)assembled a squad of experienced players that he obviously feels fit with his attacking ethos. Nothing wrong with that. I find it a bit pointless to berate Wenger with calls for DM’s or to do things that are blatantly against his footballing worldview”
Kiwi, I really can’t believe you’ll write something like this.
Wenger, this same man, before he hit his head on a wall and lost his senses, USED DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS in ALL his winning teams!!!!!!!!!!
Even before he came to Arsenal he ALWAYS used REAL DMs.
The last title we won, the FA cup, we used BOTH Vieira and Gilberto as DMs!!!!
So what do you mean by completely against his “attacking ethos”???
Don’t confuse “attacking ethos” with the crap the Wengmeister pulled out his rear end.
Against Sunderland we had TWO shots on target in 90 minutes … and one of those was a nonsense shot from distance that rolled slowly into the goalies hand. Is that the new “attacking ethos”?
@Fred, I don’t disagree. And I’m not saying a defensive minded midfielder is not desirable. But… Wenger has intentionally moved away from this role for many years now. He clearly does not want a ‘defensive or holding midfielder’.
So, I accept this as a reality.
Don’t get too hung up on my words, you know I favour basic principles like ‘good defence’ and a rounded attacking game that includes headers :-)
I just don’t see much value in berating Wenger to do things he simply won’t do.
It’s true of course that Petit/Vieira and Gilberto/Vieira and even Edu/Vieira gave Arsenal size and bite or cover in front of the defence. But that was a long time ago. So clearly Wenger’s worldview has moved. He became less pragmatic and more romantic.
It is what it is.
Over the last 3 off-seasons Wenger has (re)assembled a squad of experienced players that he obviously feels fit with his attacking ethos. Nothing wrong with that. I find it a bit pointless to berate Wenger with calls for DM’s or to do things that are blatantly against his footballing worldview, so I try and think of what would complement his approach and has a chance of happening rather than pretending he’s going to have the equivalent of a ‘managerial makeover’ at his age and stage.
To me, it’s about what ‘extra’ has to happen that is not against his worldview to give his approach a better chance. And don’t say ‘a DM’. Or a ‘big narly CB’. I’d love Fellaini but it’s (be it DM, or big mean CB, or Fellaini) just not happening.
I think his defence is as good as its been for a long time. The only major issue is at fullback, and moreso left back. Gibbs is a bit physically fragile so a fitter LB might be a significant improvement.
Nuri Sahin in midfield isn’t a DM but may be a plus if he’s as good as the reports say. The deal looks fragile and I’m guessing it’s a mix of salary (the tax in Spain distortion) and the need for an acceptable buy-out clause. If it’s the latter I agree. If we can’t buy him don’t get him. And the salary is a valid issue too, you can’t pay him a ridiculous sum. Hopefully it works out.
The attack with Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla + Gervinho and Oxlade-Chamberlain looks a really good mix. Wenger can fashion something out of that group.
I am left wondering if we don’t did something else. And I don’t feel really wed as to what that something is. I just sense Arsenal as a team and club needs a bit of inspiration rather than this slow-drip incremental approach that whilst being inherently sound seems unlikely to create the impetus the club needs to get out of this 3rd/4th slough (accepting it’s a slough with some merit).
I’m thinking Bergkamp or Cantona. A player who provides an inspirational figure that provides a gluey cohesiveness to a group that is sound but a bit lacking. A guy that the team ‘goes to’ in those moments when the norm doesn’t work. Bergkamp provided that during Wenger’s glory years. Cantona provided that to Ferguson in his early fragile period. Who is that guy? Well that’s the thing. It’s not easy to pick them, because in some ways it’s about the right guy at the right time in the right space. You couldn’t have predicted the impact either would have.
What is clear is that both of them were vastly experienced when they blossomed. I really think Wenger needs this, because I don’t see this group blooming without that inspiration. Conversely, I could see them surprising with that type of inspiration. Maybe it’s a guy like Arjen Robben or Franck Ribéry. Robben impresses in that he seems to be the guy that provides answers in big moments – both goals and assists. Others may have thoughts on who could contribute in this manner.
@Kiwi, Whoops, “I am left wondering if we don’t need something else.”
@Kiwi, well, you can forget about Sahin… we screwed around for too long “negotiating”… and Liverpool will apparently sign him tomorrow.
Goes back to the “smoke screen” agenda that we run regularly as a club… probably never really considered this guy, but it keeps the fans “hoping”… did the same thing with M’Vila… I would not be surprised if we were DONE brining in players this Summer… sold a few more before the window closes, and AGAIN, made a nice tidy profit, as always.
Its the same pathetic defense that let in 49 goals last year, without Song… who was the closest thing to a DM that we had at the club.
Who expects a different outcome this year? I have land to sell you….
@stag133, The report is that Real wanted a 2mil. fee and we had to take his entire salary that would be 5 Mil. for a season and we werent willing to spend that for a player who maybe doesn’t play much and we coudn’t then buy afterwards.
And its true that Fellaini is a DM but his skillset is so similar to Song. He would essentially be a Song-Upgrade. He is a big body but you can’t put him in the clumsy/destroyer box.
@stag133 Real Madrid wanted Arsenal to pay most of his salary and Sahin makes about 120,000 a week on top of a loan fee. It’s stupid to pay that much for a player that you can’t keep since RM didn’t want a sell clause in the contract. It’s not stupid to get the best deal you can. If it doesn’t work out, move on.
You can call the players that have left greedy, Judas, spoiled, bitches, or whatever you like… here is the ONLY stat that really matters:
Players who have quit Arsenal over the last seven years have amassed 44 winners’ medals between them at 11 different clubs, while those who stayed at the Emirates have empty trophy cabinets.
@stag133,
Are we considering Hleb in that stat? Because lets be honest Hleb did f- all at Barca
@George, There you go a meaningless stat from Stag for everybody. I know you are a football fan (the jury is still out if you are considered an Arsenal one) and a little insanity is expected but that is just stupid. If you wan’t to trash the management so bad and turn people against the club do it as a Spurs Fan.
@Ty, Ty.
It’s a STATISTIC showing the club have sold their BEST PLAYERS for CASH.
These players have gone on to win trophies and medals elsewhere…
while we have won NOTHING at Arsenal.
It’s pretty simple stuff.
Not sure how old you are, or how long you’ve been an Arsenal supporter, but I’ve been a fan long enough, traveled to see them play numerous times for numerous years… Pretty sure I stack up with
you or anyone else here as what a “FANATIC” is all about.
BLIND support is how you want to go, go for it…
If the club are doing the right things, going in the right direction, great…
If they are NOT, then they need to be called out on it EVERY TIME.
Same exact story here in Boston, where the “fans” are tearing about the owners of the club, and managment of the club, and players of the club… the team are in utter disarray.
Still a Sox fan, as I have been my whole life, but frankly, I WANT them to lose games at this point in the season, because CHANGE HAS TO COME. They are NOT a likable bunch, that are running this club.
See it the same at Arsenal.
If you don’t like it, then you don’t have to read my comments, OR comment on them.
that’s your choice.
@stag133,
Are these players exempt from any blame about not winning trophies with Arsenal? In 2007-08 should Flamini, Hleb and Lass taken some responsibility for not lifting silverware? Im not saying its all their fault but it sounds to me like you’re saying its all Wenger’s and the boards and not the players for not delivering on the pitch
@George, George, we were DEFINITELY CLOSE on a few occasions … to being right there to win a trophy… and at that point, you can bring in a key player or 2, to put you over the top…
And what have the club done in that instance… in the January Window…. not much, because after all….
“its not a good buying window”… and in the Summer, we’ve SOLD STAR PLAYER after STAR PLAYER.
No, the club have not surrounded its stars with the necessary talent to WIN.
It’s ON THE CLUB and MANAGEMENT, much much more than the players. The club set the tone… and Arsenal’s tone is SURRENDER.
You surrender, when you sell your best players for cash… over and over and over again.
That tells the world, you are a selling club, who care more about profit.
And the players feed off that, know that, and leave because of it.
@stag133, The Sox aren’t in any way comparable to Arsenals situation. The American Sports System isn’t in any way comparable. There is an incentive to loose and save money that isn’t in any way appliable to Football. I don’t have blind faith it is called perspective. Smt you lack completly most of the time. And the classic “I am a fan longer(bigger,more passionate aso.) than you” I love those. If you have no clue about football(and I don’t say you have)you can be a fan all you wan’t.
The thing about statistics is that they are absolutly
meaningless unless you can show causality or at least
correlation. And with your its that simple argument you
haven’t archieved that.
Can’t you guys all see what Arsene is doing once again?
Please, please, please stop all this talk about DM’s.
Just like in 2006 when he got rid of Diarra, Flamini left and he still sold our last bit of MF steel in Gilberto, he has moved the only bit of MF steel once again in the form of Alex Song. An “on loan” Sahin with no buyout clause will be our temporary fix for the season.
Every time I give Arsene praises for changing and finally seeing the light he shows me just how wrong I was. And, anyone who thinks a soft MF will win the EPL at this time also just doesn’t get it.
A “big” team like Arsenal having to get players on loan to cover our sales is pathetic.
@Caribkid, Carib, we aren’t competing for the EPL title.
There is no chance. We haven’t addressed the defense at all, and while Song wasn’t a classic DM, he was the closest thing we had to it… we have subtracted him, and not added anything to replace him yet.
Window closes in a week.
well, a big reason why the EPL is so popular and where all the money is… the ACTION.
1st week, and we have the 5 goal thriller in the ManCity – Soton match, Everton upsetting United in a really good match, and Chelsea come back from down 2-1 at the half for a 4-2 win!
(not to mention 2 teams scoring 5 goals).
Very entertaining match today, even if Torres WAS off-side, and Reading probably didn’t deserve to lose!
So Eduardo’s been saying he’d love to come back to Arsenal, am I the only one who’d love it if he did? Not just on a sentimental note, but I feel he could really contribute something, I know he won’t be at his brilliant best like he was before he broke his leg, but he scored twice for Croatia in the internationals one was a great goal, which shows he’s still got it. Plus he’s got to be better than Chamakh or Park surely?
@George, Yes. I think you’re the only one!
;)
If we are signing players based on “he’s got to be better than Chamakh or Park”,
then surely, the line is going to be a very very long one.
(though, we haven’t actually seen Park play football at the club at all)
But, how about this novel idea… we actually address the defense?
A DM? a LB or RB?
I’ll pass on Eduardo, but nice of him to comment on the old club.
@stag133,
Damn I thought more people would agree with me. But my point was Chamakh didn’t even make the bench on Saturday and having another quality striking option that were not afraid of playing wouldn’t be a bad idea. And I agree we definitely need a DM and I know a Striker like Eduardo is down the priorities list but he’s got PL experience, he’s proved he can score in this league and signing him would mean we would have 3 Quality strikers who would be able to share Van Persie’s goals between them so we didn’t have to rely on 1 striker. Just thought it might be a good idea
@George, the reality is, the window closes in a week, and we still have a number of players on our books… not even on loan.
Bendtner? Park? Chamakh?
Not even sure why we brought back Arshavin…
but all of these guys can play STRIKER, even Theo…
I think Wenger believes he has all the options he needs, and we aren’t buying anyone else up front…
at least not without selling 3 of those I just mentioned.
What we are waiting for? not sure… Why is the Sahin loan taking a MONTH?
Are we in for M’Vila, or not?
It would be nice to not throw the first 1/4 of the season away again, because
we didn’t do business early enough to settle the team!
@stag133,
That is a good point I suppose that Walcott could even play up top as a striker, and yes I’d rather we’d get M’Vila and Sahin done in time for Stoke. I think we’re playing hard ball with Rennes over the fee like Barca did with Cesc as we’re the only interested party. I bloody hope it works and we get him for 12 million, otherwise we look like utter cheapskates
@George, Pretty sure Tottenham are interested in M’Vila as well…
and Tottenham are interested in Sahin, too!
But since we have CL football, I imagine they’d both prefer Arsenal.
to replace song, i recommend 5 million plus aaron ramsey to fulham for moussa dembele. fulham want ramsey to replace danny murphy. wishful, i know. arsenal also need lorente to replac van persie.
@joshuad, pretty sure Fulham aren’t letting Dembele go this Summer. They’d need time to replace him, if they want to compete.
And they especially aren’t selling him for 5 Mill, and Ramsey.
If we’re doing make-believe, let’s swap Chamakh, Arshavin and Ramsey for
Dembele and Dempsey… that way they get our overpaid – under acheivers,
and we get their best players.
Seems fair to me!
as for the tactics, song and makelele don’t play the same position. song is a box-to-box midfielder with a holding player behind him. makelele was a holding midfielder with a box-to-box midfielder in front of him. take the invincibles side. song plays the role that vieira did where makelele plays the role that gilberto did.
as for the subjective diagram of song’s performance in the bolton game last year, it falls right up my alley. i just watched that game a couple of weeks ago. i can tell you that the game was 0-0 at halftime and bolton were man-marking in midfield. arsenal made a halftime adjustment to move song further forward. why? the guy that was man-marking song also was supposed to be the guy supporting bolton’s lone striker. song moving forward meant the bolton support midfieler was further away from their lone striker. excellent call by wenger. arsenal scored 3 goals in the second half. song scored. when has makelele ever scored?
song’s only goal last season was in that game.
amazing! a player is given the chance of a lifetime to play for the best team in the world. he decides to take that chance and leave arsenal and people have so much negative bullshit to say about him.
this walid guy may be your friend but what he says doesn’t even sound true. the only thing i’ve heard about song is in interviews where his team mates have praised him for being a high-end pro and for his fashion sense. yes, i (and others) watched song’s colleagues say these things about him. i’m not giving you some rumor from an anonymous source.
carib pointed out various false statements in your guys information without even trying and with no ill will. there are quite a few more errors that we all noticed that carib didn’t mention. as for song coming to training late and is lazy? who told you that?
bottom line, we’ve all seen where song has come from(that fulham game) to where he is today. not only have we seen it but so have barcelona. no way a lazy player makes that kind of progress every single season. if ten percent of the young arsenal players worked as hard on their game as song did, wenger’s youth project would have actually worked. bottom line, song is a beast and if we don’t replace him properly, we will miss his sword in the battle.
@joshuad, I sympathise with Song as well. Like I said below just because he’s not ‘a star turn’ he’s fair game to get shat upon. The guy has done no more than a long list of other Arsenal-leavers over the last 6 years. Indeed it might be interesting to consider, Fabregas-aside, how many higher profile Arsenal players left almost immediately after they gained a high profile?
– Adebayor, left after his one good season
– Van Persie, left after his first full season
– Nasri, left after a good half-season
– Hleb, left after that ‘good season’ in 2007/8
– Flamini, ditto Hleb
Is Song any different? It’s hard not to see a high degree of self-serving going on here. Hopefully it has rid Wenger of his sentimental feelings (but I doubt it).
Fabregas is the significantly different case – he served AFC exceptionally during his tenure – both in term of appearances and productivity.
@joshuad, I think that there are a lot of us that aren’t shitting on Song. I just think that Arsenal can do better than him. He was a DM in theory only and I think that’s one of the positions that can be really improved. I have no problem with him wanting to leave, but he had three years left on his contract and Arsenal seemed very happy to let him go and it happened very quickly without any real replacement lined up, which just makes me wonder. His team mates may have liked him, but that doesn’t mean that the coaching staff did. Arsene grew tired of him? Bould didn’t like him? Who knows, but this happened much quicker than with a lot of the players that Wenger very publicly wanted to keep like Cesc, Nasri and RvP.
@seattle gooner, I don’t think it takes very long to transfer a player… it just does, when Arsenal want it to, so they can use that excuse that… “it doesn’t happen overnight”.
This seemed to happen over night.
I wish him luck. Maybe Barca see something in his game that we can’t bring out in him, or that we didn’t see… It will be interesting to see how he plays there, and how much he plays.
@stag133, My point is that when Arsenal really want a player to stay, it doesn’t happen overnight – see Fabregas, RvP, Nasri. They practically packed Song’s bags for him. Whatever the reason, they seemed very happy to see the back of him. I can only hope they replace him because there is no one on the team right now that really is very close to a DM. Not holding my breath though.
Song did well for us last season. The season before that I believe he was OK. But whatever it is, Song was always replaceable. If Diaby was fit, like he is now, he would sure to take Song’s role but with more of a attacking flair.
But I do hope he gets replaced by another solid player.
Great Post but the comparison Makelele v Song is a little bit off. I mean Makelele was maybe the best who ever did it and Song isn’t in that class by any stretch of the imagination. Why compare Song to a diffrent player, who played a diffrent role and why compare Song to “perfection”.
And with 20mil. more in the bank could somebody convince Wenger to make a 35mil. bid for Fellaini.
He is a rough n rugged defender, has great technical ability, good passer, great in the air at both ends of the pitch, big body (man do we need those we are small as hell),he is a one man plan B if the attack is dull just let him and Giroud run into the box and cross the ball from everywere into the box.
@Ty,
That’s funny, two days ago I suggested raiding Everton for Fellaini and you lectured me on how Everton weren’t selling…etc.
Wenger spend 35m on a player, are you serious. And 35m on a Fellaini type, really?
My suggestion was offer Moyes a couple of players and some cash. Moyes being Moyes would probably get the most out of the players and use the cash wisely.
Sadly, Fellaini isn’t a Wenger-type. He’s too earthy as a player and everyone is starting to appreciate his worth. Wenger will likely sign another unimposing non-descript midfielder to add to the stash he already has.
@Kiwi, unfortunately for Everton fans, they don’t even pretend to be attempting to win the Leauge… so when players start to get to a very good level… they obviously want to go to a “big club”… and Everton cash in on them, and replenish with young talent.
Its the same thing as Arsenal really, but our fans are being sold this story about how we ARE competing for trophies, and that somehow justifies the very expensive ticket prices!!
We are a slightly bigger Everton… with no chance of winning the League. At least they TRY to win a Cup, Wenger has utter disdain for the FA Cup, and plays the kids in the League Cup until the final rounds.
But I can see Fellaini fetching a pretty large transfer fee in the next 12 to 18 months…
he will want the chance to play in the CL, like most players that reach a certain level of play.
@stag133, First of just I said Everton isn’t going to sell UNLESS WE OFFER SILLY MONEY and 35 Mil IS SILLY MONEY. But we have sold playes for55 Million € and bought for 40 mil. That leaves us with a 15mil surplus and it would be nice to know that we are actually spending some extra cash.
And to STAG. We are in the Champions League every year. We advance in the CL every year. We are no lower than 4th nearly every year. In England there are 4 Teams that can win the title and we are one of them. There is Chelsea,ManU,ManC and us. Spurs were close but I think they took a step back and Liverpool has fallen of a cliff so City has there status now. You have to be in it every year and that is the only stickig point on Wenger we weren’t as close as we should have the last two but thats a trend the Manager tries to reverse.
The Song situation is interesting. Hard not to think there is a different tone adopted by Wenger (and the club) with Arsenal ‘stars’ who leave and the less glamorous players who choose to exit. Wenger goes to some lengths to avoid trashing the decisions of those like Fabregas, Nasri and Robin van Persie whilst Song, one senses, is left hanging a bit out to dry.
Did Song really do anything wrong? I don’t know, I’m left wondering in what way did he show a bad attitude? Did he post a statement on the web questioning his manager and club CEO and the clubs vision?
It’s perhaps a bit ironic, whilst Song benefited from Wenger’s faith in the same way Van Persie did, Song actually managed to be a fit and regular performer – whereas Van Persie struggled to get/stay fit and make it on to the field during most of his career.
Nevertheless Wenger is very much a manager who loves his stars. And even when they are in the act of abandoning him he seems to recast that truth in his mind with a Gaelic shrug. It’s hardly the first inconsistency in Wenger’s worldview.
With Nuri Sahin I wonder if the delay in signing him is a mixture of factors. One may well be the issue of Arsenal wanting an option to buy at the end – and this would make 100% good sense and they should demand it. The other may be the players remuneration. Foreigner footballers in Spain can benefit greatly from the country’s tax regime (althought there are moves afoot to change this) and Sahin may be reluctant to take a haircut. Arsenal on the other hand are likely to be uncomfortbale at paying him at a level that they wouldn’t be happy with should the deal become permanent. It’s a bit messy I think.
By many accounts he’s a player of some talent, and Wenger it seems has followed him with interest, if we could get him permanently it would seem to be a fine move. But the devil is in the detail with this one.
@Kiwi, make that Gallic
@Kiwi, the big difference between Song and RVP, is one is a STAR PLAYER, who scored 30 goals, and saved the club’s CL dreams last season…
and the other is an average midfielder, who showed moments of brilliance, moments of solid play, and moments of mediocrity.
nobody cares much about average to slightly above average players.
and you can hate on RVP all you like, but he’s got more talent than most players in football.
and his last season, was among the best Arsenal has ever seen.
@stag133, it helps to read a post before commenting otherwise you just look silly.
The post wasn’t (in your words) ‘a hate’ on Van Persie just an observation on how players get treated differently. I don’t ‘hate’ Van Persie, I just don’t buy this nonsense that he’s been as good for us as your saying, and I don’t think he’s acted with honour in leaving as soon as he ‘proves’ he’s capable of staying fit for a season.
You need to accept that not everyone agrees with your opinion on a player, any player. The evidence of Van Persie’s fragility is overwhelming, and one great season doesn’t erase seven interrupted ones. But if you choose to overlook it and harp on about last season then that’s up to you.
@Kiwi, that’s a fair comment Kiwi, but you make it sound like RVP was literally INJURED for 6 1/2 seasons!!
He scored 96 League Goals in 194 appearances… that’s 23 appearances per season.
He scored 20 Goals in 52 appearances in Europe…
The fact is, he was EXTREMELY productive at the club.
Was he oft-injured? Sure… but he’s played a LOT more football than a number of perma-crocks we
have had over the past 7 or 8 years… and he produced when he played.
@stag133, As often is the case, after the rants die away we agree on much. :-)
Unfortunately for both us and Van Persie he was out regularly. You are quite right when he got back on the pitch and in to a rhythm he was highly productive and his goals tally affirms that. The other side is that when he was out the side lost its way and its shape – Wenger refused to buy like cover. That’s why Henry was such a freak, his heavy workload and year-on-year productivity of 30 goals a season was phenomenal and a big part of the reason for our success. Most champion sides have a champion striker that the team shapes around. That striker has to be robust. Just imagine if Van Persie had been ‘mostly’ available – our recent history might have been a bit different.
I watched the Everton v Manchester United match.
I’m not one to spend time watching a lot of other matches but this was quite refreshing and as an Arsenal fan the result was quite exquisite.
My motivation for watching was several, opportunism (the time), curiousity (30 pieces of silver), and some of Everton’s players.
I mentioned Fellaini recently and he played centre forward this time!! He was quite outstanding. Incredibly aggressive, the perfect target man on this occasion, knocked the ManU CB’s around, and gave Everton the perfect outlet up front. He even got the goal from a fantastic EPL-style header. He’s quite a player, the type you can put almost anywhere on the pitch and he’ll perform well, and in his preferred position(s) he’ll perform to a very high level. An offer of some cash and Ramsey+Chamakh should do it. Throw in a bit more cash and Gibbs and we could get Baines as well.
It really was good to see the varied approaches on offer, there was good passing and aerial threat aplenty. Everton were good for their goal, they gave ManU plenty of trouble. It made for an exciting game even though ManU increasingly dominated late as they tried to come back.
Van Persie came on with about 30mins to go and, as you’d expect, you ‘felt quality’ but in reality he didn’t unlock the excellently organised Everton defence.
A truly lovely result on every level.
@Kiwi, maybe you SHOULD watch some other matches… you’ll see some quality football!
that was a good game to watch… and Everton definitely deserved the win…
ManU had no answer for Fellaini… he was a monster in the air (or hair?!)
United are missing like 4 CB’s… and they played with 2 real defenders!
They’ll be there in the end… so will City… but I’d love to see another wide open season in the EPL..
and that’s likely … with United, City and Chelsea the easy top 3… and about 4 teams fighting for the 4th spot.
Perhaps Fergy should have started RVP from the beginning!
@stag133, agree Stag, alas football matches for me are in the wee small hours of the night/morning making it a mission (albeit of love) to watch any EPL/European stuff. Hence my reduced motivation to get up at 2am to watch Arsenal forever in transition.
@Kiwi, Everton games are always hard fought and with pienar back the quality of football will improve even more. Fellaini is a Monster for 2 straight years now. Every Everton upset has to do with his versatility and his ability to play a holding stricker role while playing rugged defense. He is one of the best(and sometimes nastyest) DM in the World for now 2 years
straight everytime a Everton player leaves for a chunk of cash I expect it to be Fellaini but Everton knows that they can’t let him walk or they will drop in the standings.
@Ty, I’ll bet you Fellaini is sold to a major club, for a LOT of money, in the next 18 months.
They will cash him in, for 20 or 30 Million GBP.
(if they can)
Well reasoned article but a few things to clear up.
1. We did not lose Diarra and Gilberto, Arsene sold them because he was moving away from the concept of a DM while using small, mobile box to box MF’s.
2. Wilshere was not in the mix at that period of time.
3. Denilson was the anointed DM/B2B along with Cesc and Song was only drafted in after Denilson got injured. In fact, Song only played that position for less than a half during pre-season.
What Song has given us in the past is “STEEL” in the MF. Only Frimpong, injured and yet to show he is quality, provides that quality in our current squad even if we get Sahin. If you can name me one great Club team without “STEEL” in the MF please let me know, and if there is or was one, that would certainly be the exception than the rule.
Barca has Busquets (had Keita) and Mascherano. Real has Alonzo and Diarra. Bayern has Gustavo and Schweinstieger. City has Toure, Barry, DeJong and now Rodwell and the list goes on. We had Viera and Petit, Viera and Gilberto, etc. Get my drift.
Song provided the majority of our assists last year and RVP the majority of goals. So, what we have lost is our MF steel, 11 assists and 30+ goals. Tough to ask basically a new team to replace all that quality in so short a space of time. We are predicated on replacement by committee. Giroud/Poldi to replace RVP, Carzola to replace Song’s assists and ? to replace the “STEEL”.
Final analysis: Regardless of whether you liked Song or not, no way do we replace what he brought to the table for the past few years, at least, not this season.
Even if we get M’vila, which would be questionable since he will cost the same as Song and would need time to bed, he doesn’t know our system and is not known to provide assists. Not making much sense at all to me.
Then again, it’s just me and what do I know about the game as a Yankee-Jamaican (Ja-Merican) :)
@Caribkid, Problem is that Song didn’t really provide much steel. He was too concerned with going forward and playing offense (whether that was his choice or Wenger’s I don’t know) and often left the defense totally unprotected – particularly after Arteta got injured and there was no one to cover when he went up. Couple that with silly fouls and giving up posession in the Arsenal half too often. I think he was (is) a good midfielder, just not a good DM. Even before the summer started I was hoping they would replace him or at least get him competition.
I don’t think that it would take too long for a new DM to bed in. From what I’ve read – I haven’t really seen him play – is that M’Villa is happy to cover the defense and not go forward too much. That is EXACTLY what this team needs whether it is he or another that comes in.
Judging by what I saw this weekend, Cazorla is more than capable of providing the assists that Song provided. I think once this team gels a little more (loss of a one preseason game/early international friendly) I think they will score plenty of goals. I noticed quite a few passes that went astray because that connection wasn’t there and at least one time when players were on top of each other and getting in the way of each other’s shot (Cazorla/Podolski).
Of course, Wenger needs to spend the cash to replace Song for there to be any success. You are right that a solid DM is absolutely essential to long term success. Justanother no nothing American spouting his views, so I could be wrong too.
@seattle gooner,
“Steel” and defense is not one and the same. Steel is being strong on the ball, not being physically dominated or intimidated. Steel is being able to retaliate and send messages that we are not a weak team.
Sagna and Wilshere is steel, Viera, Petit, Flamini, Campbell, Bould, Parlor, Lehman, even Wiltord, was steel. Steel is all about attitude and strength. M’Vila is steel but he doesn’t have the assist factor. So as to my point, we keep selling players and and instead of buying like or better replacements, we replace by committee.
@Caribkid, Then Song provided neither steel or defense. I would rather have the steel of M’Villa than the assists of Song. There were far too many times where SOng was trying for the picture perfect pass when there were easier and sometimes better options. The assists can be picked up by the likes of Cazorla, Arteta, Rosicky (yeah, I know) and Theo. As I said earlier though, that is all dependent on Wenger strengthening the team and bringing in the appropriate player.
Bottom line is hat I am not upset at Song leaving. I think he is utterly replaceable. The question is whether he will be replaced or not.
I wish Alex Song well at Barcelona.
While I didn’t think he was great, (like many on this site)… I think he did a decent job, and we have nobody in the team that can slot into his position at this time.
He certainly never appeared to be LAZY during matches… I’ll give him that.
We got a nice piece of change for him, and that’s the important thing. No reason at all to slander the player, and say he was lazy and showed up late, and all that crap. How’s it help the club to rip a player on the way out… like RVP being injured for 6 1/2 years straight, and he owes the club his career!
We’ll see if Arsenal spend the money …
and bring in someone… anyone to shield the back 4… in some way, shape or form.
Good luck Alex.